FIFA\u2019s chief football officer Jill Ellis has said she is wary of hypocrisy over the Women\u2019s Club World Cup potentially being held in Qatar.<\/p>\n
Ellis, head coach of the USWNT between 2014 and 2019, noted the proliferation of anti-gay bills in the United States when questioned on the inaugural tournament FIFA announced<\/a> last month would take place in January 2028.<\/p>\n No host nation has been confirmed but it was reported in the Guardian<\/a> that Qatar were in talks with world football\u2019s governing body. When approached by The Athletic\u00a0earlier this month, a FIFA spokesperson said that no discussions had yet been held on potential hosts.<\/p>\n Qatar held the men\u2019s World Cup in 2022 and faced scrutiny and international criticism for its human rights record, including the criminalization of homosexuality<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve not heard anything about that region, at my level. There\u2019s a bidding process \u2014 the (FIFA) Council has to vote on it. I\u2019m going to put my personal hat on, there are over 500 bills in the U.S. with anti-gay legislation on them,\u201d Ellis, 59, said in a press briefing on Tuesday when asked about Qatar potentially bidding for the tournament. The American Civil Liberties Union said<\/a> there were over 600 legislative bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was last year when I started researching this,\u201d Ellis continued. \u201cI also come from the U.S., but right now there\u2019s a big light being shown on that. So I\u2019m very, very careful not to throw stones in glass houses, right?<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to try and get as many people interested in this to want to host it.\u201d<\/p>\n