Qatar 2022. a Green World Cup? | Vancouver Sun

Certainly one ofthe main selling points of the bid was to claim that all the stadiums to be builtwould be carbon neutral, which effectively means that the organisers planto air condition a series of huge buildings at no cost to the environment. They also claim that, because the stadiums are being built within 60 kms of each other, transportation links will be easier and cheaper and cut down on travel for fans and teams alike.

The devil though may be in the detail. A World Cup is not just about the stadiums, it is also about the hotels that will be built, the restaurants that will be opened to cater for the influx of fans, and numerous other facilities. The Qatari bid is less clear on how the air conditioning for these projects will be powered. What is also far from clear is how another aspect of the plan will be implemented.

At first glance the idea that, once the competition has ended,separate tiers of each stadiumwill be transported toemerging football nations sothat they will eachthen have their own, ready made, facility seems not only enterprising but also downright humanitarian. But really? Transporting a stadium from one country to another? We are all constantly being told that even a short plane journey requires the planting of asmall forest to repair our carbon footprint. Not only would a stadium be impossible to move without having an effect on theenvironmental impact of the tournament as a whole, but the excess baggage fees alonewill probably bankrupt the country overnight. It needs emphasising thatcarbon neutral stadiums do not automatically equal a carbon neutral World Cup.

Maybe when Franz Beckenbauer suggested playing the tournament in January he was being more serious than some people thought.