Qatar to join European qualifying for 2022 World Cup
Qatar will be involved in Uefa's qualifying for the 2022 World Cup the country are hosting, and are set to be placed in one of the five-team groups. The idea will be to balance out the groups and also give the hosts essential preparation games ahead of a landmark event for the country's football culture.
Sources state it is most likely Qatar will be placed in Group A - featuring Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Serbia and Azerbaijan - although negotiations could yet them be put in Groups B, D or E.
The move comes after negotiations between the AFC and Uefa, and isn't the first time the 2022 hosts have been involved in such a move across confederations. They have participated in the Copa America in 2019, and are set to be invited back in 2021. They will also take part in the Concacaf Gold Cup, as the home federation seeks to have a team capable of qualifying for the knock-out stages of their own World Cup.
I thought the idea of getting extra acclimatisation to different styles of football from around the world, not to mention a taster of how all aspects of logistics of holding a large international tournament work out, was fulfilled by the Confederations Cup, which was abolished for some reason.
But yeah, this entire World Cup is complete shithouse and I am finding it extremely hard to get enthusiastic about this Blatter/Hammam stitch-up. The only amusing detail about it was Chuck Blazer's 2 apartments in Trump Tower, one of which was for his cats to live in.
>>9061 >>9062 >>9063 You lads are too cynical. This regularly happens in Copa America competitions, and has been happening since the 90s. Japan and Qatar took part in those too, with Australia to be included in 2021 competition. It is usually done to even out the numbers.
>>9064 I understand that, but the only reason Qatar have been to the Copa America and why they're gaining match experience in the European qualifiers is because they bought themselves a World Cup no one, outside of FIFA, wanted them to have. It'll be fine, ultimately, because it's a World Cup and even the shit ones are memorable because they happen so infequently, but it's been built upon the backs of slaves in a country which bribed its way there. I'm sure they aren't the first to offer a bung to FIFA, but it's just so nakedly obvious this time around. First African WC in 2010, still noteworthy, Brazil? THE footballing nation, Russia, bribery yes, but there's a footballing history there, like the two centre backs they had dating from the Mesozoic era. Qatar just stretches all credulity AND they're a load of bastards too. Oh, and it's so hot there it'll have to take place in the winter so enjoy getting everyone round for BBQ in 5C tempratures and lashing rain.
>>9064 Teams invited to the Copa America tend to have links to the continent; Mexico and the USA are geographically close, Japan has more emigrants in Brazil than anywhere else in the world and there's links across the Pacific to the antipodes. As otherlad said, Qatar have bought themselves a World Cup and now they're shitting the bed trying to scramble competitive gametime for them because they're going to embarrass themselves with how poor they are.
