--- description: Qatar likely will not be hosting the 2022 World Cup, a top FIFA official said Monday. Why? The country is too hot. title: FIFA World Cup 2022 May Not Be In Qatar, FIFA Exec Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7d64edbd9c1df59/6986a48c3617601e5e90dfaa/qatar-world-cup-fifa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Soccer](/tag/soccer/) ## Soccer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Official Says Qatar Is Too Hot to Host World Cup ## Video: A Guide To The World Cup [Watch (HLS stream): A Guide To The World Cup](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vQL4RWyi.m3u8) (4:30)  _Published 2014-05-30. Not sure what exactly the world cup is, or who to watch? Here's all you need to know._ by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2014 1:23 PM CUT  A Qatari official stands near the FIFA World Cup trophy following its arrival in Doha, on Dec. 12, 2013. A Qatari official stands near the FIFA World Cup trophy following its arrival in Doha, on Dec. 12, 2013.Karim Jaafar—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2014 1:23 PM CUT Qatar [likely will not be hosting the 2022 World Cup](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/22/uk-soccer-qatar-fifa-zwanziger-idUKKCN0HH1BJ20140922 "undefined"), a top FIFA official said Monday. Why? The country is too hot. “Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions,” Reuters [reports](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/22/uk-soccer-qatar-fifa-zwanziger-idUKKCN0HH1BJ20140922 "undefined") FIFA Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger saying. “I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar.” Qatar leaders have said they will equip stadiums, fan zones, and training areas with advanced cooling systems during the games, but Zwanziger said it won’t be enough. “They may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there,” Zwanziger said. A Qatari official quickly pushed back in a statement. “Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, despite comments of FIFA Executive Committee member Dr. Zwanziger, which reflect his personal opinion and not that of FIFA,” the official said. “The only question now is WHEN, not IF. Summer or winter, we will be ready. We have proven that a FIFA World Cup in Qatar in the summer is possible with state-of-the-art cooling technology. We have demonstrated that our cooling works in outdoor areas beyond stadiums.” \[[_Reuters_](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/22/uk-soccer-qatar-fifa-zwanziger-idUKKCN0HH1BJ20140922 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3418177/qatar-world-cup/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3418177/qatar-world-cup/"},"headline":"Official Says Qatar Is Too Hot to Host World Cup","datePublished":"2014-09-22T13:23:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:19:50.597Z","description":"\"Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions\"","url":"https://time.com/3418177/qatar-world-cup/","keywords":["Soccer","Sports topic","World","Qatar","World Cup","FIFA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7d64edbd9c1df59/6986a48c3617601e5e90dfaa/qatar-world-cup-fifa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7d64edbd9c1df59/6986a48c3617601e5e90dfaa/qatar-world-cup-fifa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FBL-WC2014-QAT-FIFA-TROPHY","caption":"FBL-WC2014-QAT-FIFA-TROPHY","creditText":"Karim Jaafar—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3418177/qatar-world-cup/","name":"Official Says Qatar Is Too Hot to Host World Cup"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Guide To The World Cup","description":"Not sure what exactly the world cup is, or who to watch? 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