(Football news) Sepp Blatter, who was President of the football world governing body FIFA at the time when Qatar was awarded the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup, has called the decision a “mistake”. The tournament, which is set to begin later this month, will be hosted in the middle east for the first time in the World Cup’s 92 year old history as well as the first time in the Northern Hemisphere winter. 

The Gulf state has been heavily criticised for its stance towards same sex marriages, human rights record as well as treatment of migrant workers. Blatter said that he was “right” to have said at the time that the tournament “should not go to Qatar” in 2022 and has blamed then UEFA President Michel Platini for swinging the vote in Qatar’s favor. The 86 year old has claimed that his preference was the United States but the FIFA executive committee voted 14-8 for Qatar to host the tournament. 

In an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger, Blatter said that Qatar “is too small a country” to host the World Cup and that "football and the World Cup are too big for it". He said “It was a bad choice and I was responsible for that as president at the time. Thanks to the four votes of Platini and his [Uefa] team, the World Cup went to Qatar rather than the United States. It's the truth. Since then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account.” 

Blatter spent 17 years as FIFA President but was forced to step down in 2015 due to allegations about an unlawful transfer of two million Swiss francs ($2.19m; £1.6m) to Platini. He was subsequently banned from football for eight years, which was later reduced to six but received an additional ban until 2028 in March 2021 for "various violations" of Fifa's code of ethics. Both Blatter and Platini were charged with fraud last November but were found “not guilty” at a trial in Switzerland. 

In a recent letter issued by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, he urged federations to “focus on football” instead of the controversy surrounding the World Cup. The letter was criticised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and LGBTQ+ campaigners in England and Wales, while 10 European football associations – including those of England and Wales – said "human rights are universal and apply everywhere". 

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