Advertisement

Don't get too excited about the FIFA ExCo member predicting a 2022 World Cup venue change

Dirty Tackle
(Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)
(Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)

FIFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger is making headlines for his prediction that the 2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar. But before this is taken as a major sign that FIFA will change the host nation after four years of controversy and protest it's important to note exactly what Zwanziger said and his history of speaking out against Qatar.

First, here are Zwanziger's latest comments. Note that he prefaces his statement by saying "I personally think." This is an important distinction from someone who is often out of sync with his cohorts. From Reuters:

"I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar," the German told Sport Bild on Monday.

"Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions," the former German football (DFB) chief, who is now a member of the world football's governing body FIFA that awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010. [...]

"They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there," Zwanziger said.

"Fans from around the world will be coming and travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor.

"That is not something that FIFA Exco members want to answer for."

You might remember that FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke made headlines of his own back in January when he spoke out of turn and said that the 2022 World Cup would not be held in June/July because of the Qatar heat, but that was quickly shot down by other FIFA executives.

Zwanziger is an even less reliable source of FIFA opinions than Valcke, though. As president of the German football federation in 2011, he called for FIFA to investigate Qatar's winning bid, citing "a considerable degree of suspicion that one cannot sweep aside" regarding accusations of bribery. But once he became a member of FIFA's executive committee himself, he seemed resigned to being alone in dissenting opinion.

"Pressure and threats won't achieve much … We have a duty," Zwanziger said in February when asked about the deplorable labor conditions in Qatar. "The decision has been taken to grant the World Cup to Qatar, whether I like it or not."

Then there's the small matter of Zwanziger being on his way out of FIFA all together. From the Guardian:

Zwanziger is due to step down from Fifa at its congress next May where he is likely to be replaced by his successor at the DFB, Wolfgang Niersbach. That would suggest Zwanziger will no longer have any involvement or influence at Fifa by the time it begins considering the findings of the investigation into alleged bribery and corruption in the award of the finals to Qatar, being led by Fifa’s prosecutor Michael Garcia, let alone the question of human rights’ abuses and the rights of migrant workers building the stadiums in the country.

And for anyone still holding out hope that Zwanziger lead a charge against Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup as his last hurrah with FIFA, journalist Raphael Honigstein makes it very clear that such a thing probably won't happen.

So the next time a FIFA executive speaks out against Qatar, pay close attention to who that executive is and how likely it is that they sit alone in FIFA cafeteria.

- - - - - - -

Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!