Desert storm

BAFANA would no doubt be happy to play in temperatures of up to 50ºC, should they reach the heady heights of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but many nations remain unhappy over the choice of the desert state for the soccer showpiece.

Allegations that money may have talked louder than common sense – or the welfare of players and fans – in the selection of Qatar have been rife since the decision to stage its first Middle East World Cup were made.

But now battle lines are being drawn after Fifa president Sepp Blatter belatedly decided that staging the event in summer in such a climate was a bad idea.

Despite initial assurances from the organisers that air-conditioned stadiums and fan zones would take care of the heat, Blatter has now accepted that playing and watching soccer in a desert summer is not the way to handle the sport’s greatest tournament. He and his executive committee now want to switch the event to winter, a move which would disrupt soccer leagues around the world.

South Africa knows what it is like when powerful bodies start to unfairly cast doubt on a nation’s ability to stage a World Cup, but the strange decision to award the event to Qatar is cast in a different light.

The World Cup has been moved before, in 1986 from Colombia to Mexico. But a change away from oil-rich Qatar is not likely, despite there also being questions about the country’s human rights record, chiefly concerning the working conditions of migrant labourers, and the ban on homosexuality. Alcohol is forbidden, although fans have been promised some form of amnesty in this regard.

The bottom line is that Fifa has got itself into an unholy mess through its decision to stage the World Cup in a small desert nation, and the opposition from powerful European leagues to moving the event to winter means the temperature is going to get even hotter for Blatter and co.