Qatar, a country of just 3 million people with summer temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius where homosexuality is illegal, was awarded the 2022 World Cup over heavily favored bids from the US and Spain.
Where this was said
At 27:04 · chapter starts 22:32
December 2010, Zurich: the entire FIFA world gathered to award two World Cups simultaneously — the most competitive bidding process in history. Spain was the favourite for 2018, the US was strongly favoured for 2022. Qatar had submitted a bid that everyone dismissed as fanciful — no football history, no stadiums, summer heat above 45°C, and a country that had never qualified for the World Cup. FIFA's own technical report had flagged Qatar as potentially dangerous for player health. Qatar had nevertheless spent lavishly on its bid, reportedly paying roughly $10 million each to major soccer stars including Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to publicly endorse it. When Blatter stepped to the lectern — and Jonathan Clegg was there, watching — he announced Russia for 2018 and Qatar for 2022. The reaction was immediate: shock, outrage, cries of corruption. A country of 3 million people where homosexuality was illegal had somehow beaten the most powerful football nations on earth. The calls to overturn the decision and investigate the corruption that must have caused it began immediately.
Qatar reportedly paid roughly $10 million each to major soccer stars like Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to publicly endorse their 2022 World Cup bid.
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