To see the stars arrive for the final presentations...

 For FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the outcome will be a test of his power base ahead of next year's election, and will determine whether he faces a challenger.

The fact that Qatar have emerged as one of the front-runners has caused consternation to many in the FIFA administration who cannot conceive of hosting a World Cup in a country half the size of Wales and where temperatures in June can top 50C.

Many FIFA officials - though not necessarily the voting ones - would prefer Australia, which would be a new territory, or the USA which is a safe pair of hands. Japan and South Korea would also be low-risk choices but it is only eight years since they co-hosted the tournament.

For Blatter, the challenge is more personal with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari head of Asian football, threatening to stand against him.

Qatar have promised to air-condition the stadiums and training grounds and the heat factor has led to a war of words between Bin Hammam and Chuck Blazer, the FIFA member from the USA who are the favourites to win the 2022 race.

Blazer's pointed remark that "you can air-condition a stadium, but I don't see how you can air-condition an entire country," infuriated Bin Hammam, who referred to the baking heat in some matches that kicked off at noon when the USA hosted the World Cup in 1994.

"I asked my counterpart... whether or not he remembers the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where some of the matches were played at midday in temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius," said Bin Hammam.

"When he told me that he remembers, I asked him whether or not anyone had criticised the US for putting the players' and officials' health in danger.

"On the contrary, even the American fans forgot about the heat and (they have) applied for another World Cup posting less than 16 years from the time they last hosted."

There are others too considering a challenge to be the next FIFA president, such as Brazil's Ricardo Terra Teixeira and UEFA president Michel Platini, though they are more likely to have eyes on 2015 than next year.

In this contest, any vote-trading may reflect the jostling for power as much as anything else.

As for Blatter, many members have criticised him for deciding to hold the vote for 2018 and 2022 at the same time, and for not taking action to eliminate Qatar on technical grounds months ago.

It may be that whoever wins, Blatter emerges as the real loser from this process.

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To see the stars arrive for the final presentations...