To describe Qatar hosting the World Cup as “controversial” would be a massive understatement.
Ever since the tiny Middle Eastern country won the rights to stage football’s biggest and most prestigious tournament on December 2, 2010 there have been protests, allegations, petitions, investigations and much more.
The man who announced their triumph, ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter, has now admitted he regrets what happened. “The choice of Qatar was a mistake,” Blatter told Tages-Anzeiger. “At the time, we actually agreed in the Executive Committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.”
But after 4,371 days, which have seen countless corruption allegations, life bans, U-turns and thousands of construction projects, here we are, on the eve of the World Cup.
There has been so much water under the bridge that it is easy to forget the process which led to a first tournament in the Middle East and a first winter World Cup. Here Mirror Football reminds you of the journey which took us to Doha.
