Sepp Blatter confirms political pressure over Qatar 2022

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has admitted that there was pressure from European politicians to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup.

The decision to give the competition to the Gulf State has been criticised by many, with concerns being raised about how players will cope with the 50C heat in the host nation.

That has led to calls for the World Cup to be moved to the winter. In July, Blatter confirmed that he was confident that FIFA's executive committee would agree to such a measure when they meet in October.

However, Blatter now admits that the initial decision three years ago to give Qatar the World Cup was partly influenced by political pressure.

"Clearly yes," Blatter told the Die Zeit newspaper. "There was direct political influence.

"European heads of governments advised voting FIFA members to vote for Qatar because of the wide financial interests linked with that country."

Qatar was chosen ahead of South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States.