German calls to withdraw hosting of 2022 Word Cup from Qatar

CAIRO – 4 July 2017: Vice President of the Bundestag (German lower house) Claudia Roth renewed her calls for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to withdraw hosting the 2022 World Cup tournament from Qatar.

In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Roth poses questions about how FIFA could grant the opportunity to host the competition to a country that has no experience in the sport and is an “exporter of wahabi ideology that provides the breeding ground for Islamic terrorism worldwide.” Roth added that the country’s human rights situation was catastrophic.


The German parliamentarian mentioned the death of a number of construction workers who died while working on buildings for the competition, and added that the recent Gulf-Qatari crisis is further proof the country is not suitable for hosting the World Cup.


She highlighted that FIFA picked Qatar from the very beginning to host 2022 World Cub due to its wealth and not for its suitability, adding that Qatar is not a suitable country for hosting such an international championship.

Meanwhile, the president of the German Football Association (DFB) proposed setting clear criteria to FIFA that would determine whether a country is qualified to host the World Cub.

As a result of the crisis, Germany, Spain and the U.S. have been floated as potential replacements.