Eric Cantona has criticised the decision to hold the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar and said that he will not watch the tournament.
Cantona dismissed the event as “not a real World Cup”, citing the deaths of “thousands of people” during construction of new stadia and infrastructure and accusing Fifa of only being interested in money.
Speaking exclusively to Sportsmail at the Launch of Looking FC, football trips for fans to experience the world and its cities through football communities, Cantona pulled no punches in his verdict.
He said: ‘To be honest, I don’t really care about the next World Cup, which is not a real World Cup for me. In the last decades, you had a lot of events like the Olympic Games or World Cups in countries that are emerging – like in Russia or China.
‘But Qatar – it’s not the country of football. I’m not against the idea of hosting a World Cup in a country where there is a possibility to develop and promote football, like in South Africa or the United States in the 90’s.
‘Football is the most popular feminine sport in the United States, there is a lot of South American immigration, and a big potential for the sport to develop.
