Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that the decision to award Qatar the right to host the World Cup was a "mistake".

Blatter, 86, was FIFA president when Qatar won the right to host the tournament in 2010.

The Gulf country faced criticism over its stance on LGBTQ relations, human rights record, and treatment of migrant workers.

Qatar's World Cup ambassador, Khalid Salman, said that homosexuality is a "damage in the mind," which sparked criticism.

Salman, the former Qatari international player, told the German ZDF channel that those from the LGBTQ community attending the tournament must "accept our rules".

There are concerns about how LGBTQ individuals will be treated in Qatar.

Blatter said in remarks to the BBC that he was "right" when he said the tournament "should not have gone" to Qatar.

Blatter also mentioned in an interview with the Swiss newspaper "Tagess Anzeiger" that Qatar is a "very small country" to host the tournament, and that "football and the World Cup are bigger than to be hosted by it".

The 2022 World Cup is held in Qatar, the first to be hosted by the Middle East in the tournament's 92-year history, from November 20 to December 18.

The FIFA executive committee voted 14 to 8 in favor of awarding Qatar the tournament over the United States twelve years ago, while Russia was awarded the 2018 tournament.

Blatter said he voted for the United States and blamed the then UEFA president Michel Platini for tipping the vote in favor of Qatar.

He said, "It was a bad choice and I was responsible for that as president of the federation at that time."

He added, "Thanks to the four votes from Platini and his team (UEFA), the World Cup went to Qatar instead of the United States. That's the truth."

Blatter also said that FIFA changed the criteria used to select host countries in 2012 after concerns were raised about the treatment of migrant workers building World Cup stadiums in Qatar.

He added, "Since then, social considerations and human rights have been taken into account."

Blatter spent 17 years as FIFA president but was forced to step down in 2015 due to allegations that he illegally arranged to transfer two million Swiss francs (2.19 million dollars) to Platini, who was also forced to resign from his FIFA position.

Blatter and Platini were charged with fraud last November, but the trial held in Switzerland in July found them not guilty.

The decision to award Russia and Qatar the World Cup hosting rights faced widespread corruption allegations, with investigations launched by Swiss prosecutors and the US Department of Justice in 2015.

Qatar and Russia have always denied any wrongdoing and were effectively cleared through a special FIFA investigation in 2017.

FIFA recently wrote to competing countries asking them to "focus now on football".

The FIFA message was criticized by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and LGBTQ activists in England and Wales, while 10 European football associations said "human rights are universal and apply everywhere".

Amnesty International says that since 2010, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have faced human rights violations while employed on projects in Qatar.

Peaceful protests are currently being planned by some players, while former English player Harry Kane and nine other leaders of European teams will wear armbands bearing the phrase "One Love" to promote diversity and inclusion.

The Danish team’s jersey was also designed to express protest against Qatar, as sportswear supplier Hummel said it "does not wish to highlight and display its logos" at the tournament, which it claims "cost thousands of lives".