US Soccer President Sunil Gulati At a Loss as Qatar Wins 2022 World Cup Bid

Filed under: FIFA World Cup, International Soccer, US Soccer

WASHINGTON, DC -- My second day at Al Jazeera's TV studio here in the nation's capital got off to a unexpectedly disheartening start.

At least an hour before FIFA overlord Sepp Blatter was scheduled to announce the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Qatari bid chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the son of the Emir, was pictured offering his congratulations to the people of Qatar.

"We have won," he declared boldly.

I watched it all on the studio's hi-def monitor.

About 90 minutes later, Al Thani was proven right. Qatar won easily, in fact, defeating the U.S. by a wide margin through four rounds of voting. (The moment sinks in, above). Qatar's oil-soaked thumb print clearly was on the pulse of the FIFA executive committee. In contrast, the U.S. never found its rhythm.

 

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