FIFA medical chief warning over Qatar summer World Cup

10 years ago | Posted in: Sports | 600 Views

FIFA’s medical chief has joined a chorus of high-profile officials from the football work to criticise the decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as he revealed professional footballers are dying of heart failure at the rate of one a month, London’s Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Speaking at a conference on football and medicine in the Jordanian capital of Amman, Dr Michel D’Hooghe said: “There are still eight years to go but I have always said that the tournament should avoid the three hottest months.

“Not necessarily only for the players, who will play in cooled stadiums, but for the fans as well.”

The newspaper reported that former Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, whose life was saved after a heart attack during an FA Cup tie at Tottenham two years ago, was a guest at the conference.

The event was in response to the death last November of young Jordanian footballer Qusai Khawaldeh, who collapsed during a match and, with no paramedics at the ground, could not be saved after swallowing his tongue.

D’Hooge, the chairman of FIFA ‘s medical committee, demanded greater safety measures, including greater access to defibrillators, after revealing that, on average, one player a month dies of cardiac failure.

Among other top officials to raise concerns about Qatar hosting the tournament in summer include chairman of the Football Association in England, Greg Dyke, who last year claimed that hosting a summer World Cup in Qatar in 2022 would be “impossible”…. see more

source: arabianbusiness

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