There hasn't really been a kind of smoking gun when it comes to these accusations which Qatar denies. They basically played an extremely bent game better than anyone else and used hard political power to achieve those ends. If a state decides, and Russia to a certain extent decided this as well, if a state decides that it's in their interest to host this tournament, that's the full weight of the state. And you know, the other thing you remember is the vision thing, right? I mean, I've sat down with Seb Blatter several times, I've interviewed him. He's quite an interesting character because Kip FIFA is kind of, obviously, deeply corrupt but he did have this
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The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has officially kicked off, but not without its controversies. Ever since Qatar was awarded the tournament in 2010, making it the first country in the Middle East to do so, there has been scepticism from the West around the decision, with critics citing human rights violations, LGBT rights, and corruption within FIFA. On this episode of the podcast we're joined by journalist and author James Montague who first began covering football in the Middle East two decades ago. Drawing on his book, When Friday Comes: Football revolution in the Middle East and the road to Qatar, he discusses the intersection of football, politics, and global power. The host for this episode is Joey D’Urso, investigations writer for The Athletic UK.
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