Qatar World Cup - 12 years of disputes

Qatar will host one of the most hotly disputed World Cups ever from 20 November.

These are the main disputes that Qatar has fought since FIFA made the decision 12 years ago:

The surprise vote

FIFA leaders created a sensation on December 2, 2010 when Qatar beat the United States in a fourth round of voting for the 2022 World Cup. US President Barack Obama called it the "wrong decision".

At the time only one of the eight World Cup stadiums existed and many doubts were raised about whether the energy-rich state would be ready to host one million football fans.

Corruption allegations

In August 2012, FIFA's ethics committee starts an investigation, led by former US prosecutor Michael Garcia, into voting for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, head of the committee's adjudicatory chamber, said in his summary that Qatar and Russia had been cleared of wrongdoing. Garcia hit back that the summary was "materially incomplete".

The report was finally published in June 2017. It highlighted some suspect financial transactions but nothing to justify taking the World Cup from Qatar.

Since 2019, France has had a corruption inquiry into a lunch on November 23, 2010 between President Nicolas Sarkozy, UEFA president Michel Platini - who provided four European votes - and two senior Qatari officials.

French media later reported a diplomatic note on the lunch which said the World Cup, fighter jets and anti-missile defences would be discussed.

The winter World Cup

In January 2014, FIFA's secretary general Jerome Valcke said that the 2022 World Cup would be held in the winter months of November-December for the first time because of the fierce heat in Qatar during June-July when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius (125