Qatar’s World Cup Kicks Off: What’s All the Controversy About?

The selection of Qatar for the World Cup has been controversial since the decision was first announced in 2010. “(Qatar) wasn’t ready from an infrastructure perspective to host a major sporting event,” as the country lacked stadiums and hotels equipped to accommodate the games, says May Romanos, a Middle East and North Africa researcher with Amnesty International. That meant the construction work largely fell on migrants from Southeast Asia and Africa who “were often deceived by potential employers and ended up trapped in abusive working conditions,” she explains. According to the BBC, there was extensive construction in the run-up to the tournament – including building seven new stadiums and 100 hotels.

The country was also accused of paying over $3 million dollars in bribes to FIFA officials, though it was subsequently cleared of the allegations. One of the stated reasons for Qatar’s selection was to promote soccer in new regions of the world, however, questions remain about how the host nation was chosen.

In early November, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the Swiss newspaper group Tamedia that he regretted picking Qatar as the host. "It was a bad choice. And I was responsible for that as president at the time," said Blatter, who was recently acquitted on charges that he engaged in financial misconduct while serving as FIFA president, a post he resigned in 2015.

It's been handled horribly by Fifa and it all stems from allowing Qatar to have the tournament in the first place. Should never of happened but bribery has clearly won

I see why Worldcup should be hosted in Qatar when there are no hotels, or best stadiums. It looks like something controversial over their or somebody is insisting to host in Qatar.
I think money plays a big role than the game LOL.

It's all about money, unfortunately. There were lots of bribes during this bid, its obvious.