Who will host the 2022 World Cup?

The 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup hosting rights will be decided in Zurich, Switzerland today. Here's the short list for the 2022 World Cup bid:

Kai Pfaffenbach/Files/Reuters
Spain's Andres Iniesta holds the World Cup trophy after the 2010 World Cup final soccer match between Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg in this July 11 file photograph.

Qatar

Potentially the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup, Qatar has secured Algerian-born French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane as a spokesperson for its World Cup bid.

In an advertisement for Qatar’s bid, Mr. Zidane talks about how he faced challenges after immigrating to France as a child, and emphasizes the benefits that having the tournament in the Middle East could have for children there.

Qatar boasts a compact host site (the country is slightly smaller than Connecticut) and a nearly $60 billion investment in roads, rail, and a new international airport. The country’s bid also promises outdoor, air-conditioned, carbon-neutral stadia to combat 100-degree Fahrenheit daytime temperatures. To boot, Qatar is television revenue friendly: it’s within prime-time reach of about 3 billion viewers.

FIFA, however, remains concerned about the fact that virtually everything Qatar promises must be built in the next twelve years; a hiccup in any one of the major proposed projects would leave FIFA with little flexibility.

1 of 5
You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us