Published Jan 11, 2011
FIFA's executive committee chose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup over the U.S., Japan, Australia and South Korea in a secret vote Dec. 2.
Looking at these countries on the surface, how is Qatar the odd man out? Size. Qatar is slightly smaller than Connecticut and half the size of Israel. Every four years, the world's largest and most popular sporting event, the FIFA World Cup, draws an average of two million fans from across the globe. Qatar currently has a population of 841,000, according to a Houston Chronicle article.