DOHA, Qatar (AP) - A Qatar government survey shows that most of the country is deterred from going to football matches by the hot and dusty weather in the desert nation.
The findings of the study, which was conducted with the Qatar Football Association, come as FIFA looks set to move the 2022 World Cup to winter due to Qatar’s searing summer heat.
Qatar’s Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics says 72.8 percent of people responding to its survey highlighted the “capricious weather” as playing a “real part” in the decision not to attend matches. The ministry website listed “hot, humid and windy, dusty” weather as the concerns.
The survey, based on 1,079 Qataris responding, indicates that 65 percent of the country did not attend a match in Qatar in the previous season.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.