The head of the FIFA inspection team says Qatar faces “logistical challenges” in attempting to host the 2022 World Cup, raising doubts Thursday about its proposal for stadiums located close to one another. Chile Football Federation President Harold Mayne-Nicholls didn't specify what the problems were at the end of the three-day visit, but said a World Cup these days has to handle hundreds of thousands of people. He said Qatar does not currently have the necessary accommodations and transport links to meet those demands, though he acknowledged the organizers “have assured us they will change this.” “From an organizational point of view, Qatar has the potential to host an international event like a FIFA World Cup,” Mayne-Nicholls said. “But it would pose a number of logistical challenges. So far, we have had only one tournament of a similar concept with a minimum of traveling distance and that was the first tournament staged in 1930 in Uruguay. That easily worked out well 80 years ago but the scope of the event as we all know has changed dramatically.” Qatar is the final stop for the six-member team on a tour of nine countries which are bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups. FIFA's 24-member executive committee will choose the winner and it will be announced on Dec. 2. Most analysts consider the small Middle East nation of 1.6 million a longshot in a group of bidders containing the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan, which all have hosted either a World Cup or an Olympics. It also faces concerns about the heat which can reach 50 Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), fears its conservative values will put the brakes on the party atmosphere, and questions over whether there is enough for visitors to do during the tournament which lasts for a month. In his remarks, Mayne-Nicholls never mentioned the heat nor partying and his focus on the stadium plans came as a surprise since organizers saw that as one of their strengths. Calling their bid a “compact World Cup,” organizers have played up the fact that the stadiums can be reached within an hour of each other and that fans would be whisked to air conditioned venues in a flashy, new metro system. Fans, they said, could see as many as three matches in one day.
