On the heels of the mounting pressure of the International Football Association indirectly on Qatar because of doubts about its ability to host the World Cup 2022 alone, Tehran has entered the line in an attempt to exploit the predicament of its ally Doha.
According to press reports, Iran has offered to host some of the teams during the tournament, which will be the first in the Middle East, the President of FIFA, Gani Infantino, has already indicated the contact with several countries on a similar possibility.
In response to a question by AFP about the possibility of Qatar agreeing to the Iranian offer, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee for Projects and Heritage Organization of the World Cup 22, Hassan al-Thawadi said that Doha received "several offers from countries in terms of hosting teams."
"Nothing has been decided on this issue yet, and it remains a matter of discussion," he said, adding that any similar action (hosting other teams) was "part of our practical plan."
But he stressed that "it is obvious that (to proceed with it) linked to the approval of the International Football Federation," adding: "This is a discussion we will go closer to the date of the tournament," scheduled in November and December 2022.
Iran seeks to exploit and embarrass the Qatar crisis through the alliance that binds them to host teams participating in the World Cup in an attempt to get out of its isolation resulting from the re-imposition of economic sanctions by the United States because of its terrorist activities.
The possibility of hosting some of the teams outside Qatar, while studying a proposal supported by Infanino, raises the number of teams in the 2022 World Cup from 32 to 48, rather than waiting until the 2026 World Cup.
The increase will force Qatar, if adopted, to pose new challenges in terms of hosting, establishing teams and absorbing additional numbers of fans.
The plans of the FIFA president, which he wants to implement in 2022, collide with the fact that Qatar is small and unable to accommodate an event of this size, as revealed by confessions by Qatari officials on the plan to host the fans.
Despite Qatar's impressive picture of the world's preparations for the World Cup, the reality on the ground seems to be different, amid doubts that the Doha system could accommodate large numbers of fans between 21 November and 18 December 2022.
Qatar's largest hotel owner, Katara, recently announced the installation of 20,000 hotel rooms on cruise ships in the Gulf to host tens of thousands of visitors.
But worse, the plan also includes the construction of tents in desert areas close to the stadiums to host the World Cup.
This seems to have prompted the participation of other countries in Qatar in hosting the 2022 World Cup, when he said: "We have to see if this is possible and feasible, we are looking at this with our Qatari friends and other friends in the region and we hope it will happen."
Country sources said earlier that the small country hopes to host one and a half million visitors during the month of the World Cup, mostly in the capital, which will cause a heavy burden on the infrastructure of Doha and its environs.
The rain that hit Qatar on Saturday exposed the depletion of the infrastructure of the country and the lack of readiness for such sudden events, knowing that the rain during the World Cup is strongly expected to be held in the fall.
Since the announcement of the victory of the Qatari file in the World Cup eight years ago, there are suspicions of corruption over the way Doha has established the World Cup, amid allegations of bribes of tens of millions of dollars to officials of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) and continental and local unions.
