Full 90: Under Heat in Qatar

Last week, in a revealing but not shocking statement, a FIFA Executive Committee member communicated his personal belief that the 2022 World Cup would take place in Qatar. The committee member, Theo Zwanziger, in essence, said what many of us have been thinking: Qatar was wrongly awarded the FIFA World Cup.

Rife with Flaws and Questions, the World Cup is Coming

The 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil in less than a month, and preparations are going about as poorly as one could imagine. While much of the negative attention has been paid to Qatar 2022 in the past week, Brazil is coming up quickly in the rear-view mirror, baggage and all. The baggage comes to life in a variety of forms. Over-spending, corruption leading to protests and weather concerns have marred the build-up, an international mega-event trifecta of things that could go wrong.

Under Further Review No. 7: Travis Waldron

The sports world doesn't exist in a vacuum, no matter how hard you try to put it in one. Sports have the same kinds of political, economic and social issues that plague the rest of the world but offer a unique platform to disguise the issues in a much more palatable context. Really it's the same way that music, television, movies or any other popular culture can shape and direct conversations.

Full 90: Winter Wonderland in Qatar?

On Wednesday FIFA’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke, reported to a French radio station that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be held during the usual months of June and July. Instead, due to extreme summer heat in Qatar, the 2022 tournament will take place in the winter. Valcke admits that he believes the tournament will take place between November 15th and January 15th at the latest. “If you play between November 15 and the end of December that’s the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe.” Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, has since told the media that Valcke’s comments are not conclusive, rather they are the personal opinion of Valcke.

Under Further Review: A World Away In A Desert

"FIFA cannot sit by and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we." - Sepp Blatter, FIFA President.

A world away somewhere in a desert in the Middle East in the oil-rich country of Qatar people are dying. That's the reality of it, no matter how sad or bleak it may sound. Qatar is making the riots across Brazil look humane and controlled. And to think we are still nine years away from the 2022 World Cup.