Associated Press
For most of the past two years, Qatar's bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been a punch line in global soccer. The small desert kingdom has just one fully functional soccer stadium, average summer highs of 108 degrees and a population the size of San Diego.
But as FIFA prepares to select sites for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Qatar's quixotic bid, powered by its royal family's willingness to spend lavishly, suddenly has competing bidders in Sydney, New York, London and Moscow popping antacids.
Even as FIFA investigates charges that the Qataris have bent the rules and sought to fix the vote, U.S. officials are suddenly sweating. The U.S., long the clear frontrunner for 2022, is launching a last-minute round of globetrotting to shore up support ahead of the Dec. 2...
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