Although Qatar maintains its complete innocence, an unidentified U.S. law enforcement official has told Reuters that the state's World Cup bid will be included in the FBI's ongoing investigation into FIFA corruption. Russia's bid for 2018 will also be investigated.
On Wednesday, Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah boldly stated that there was "no way" that Doha would lose its right to host the 2022 World Cup.
"It is very difficult for some to digest that an Arab Islamic country has this tournament, as if this right can't be for an Arab state," Attiyah said, according to Reuters .
"No way Qatar can be stripped [of the hosting rights]. We are confident of the procedures and deserve to win it because we presented the best file."
Football fans around the world were shocked last week when Swiss law enforcement raided FIFA's headquarters in Zurich in conjunction with a U.S. probe. Federal prosecutors in Switzerland also opened their own investigation into bribery allegations over the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar and Russia, just hours after the Wednesday morning arrest of a number of FIFA individuals who are to face charges in the United States.
The Swiss and the FBI investigations come just six months after an internal FIFA probe found no evidence of corruption on the part of Doha or Moscow in the biding process.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been insisting that all allegations are unfounded; however, after being reelected for another term as president on Friday, he announced his resignation on Tuesday. FBI sources have stated that Blatter is now also under investigation for his involvement in corruption.
While the accusations of corruption have been surfacing ever since 2010, when Russia and Qatar were awarded the international events, it seemed as if the dust had settled. Now with FIFA's highest officials facing prosecution, Qatar's neck just might be on the chopping block as well.