(CNN) -- The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has an unlikely backer -- Zahir Belounis. Despite being stuck in Qatar for two years in an ordeal that he says left him contemplating a hunger strike and suicide, the freed footballer insists the Middle Eastern nation deserves to stage arguably the world's top sporting event. World governing body FIFA's decision to award the 2022 contest to Qatar three years ago has generated controversy both over what time of the year it will be held and the way migrant workers, largely responsible for the tournament's infrastructure, are treated. "They deserve it," the French-Algerian told CNN on Friday. The "people are working very hard for it. A lot of Qatari friends were sad at my situation.
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Zahir Belounis says Qatar deserves to host the World Cup in 2022
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Belounis was stuck in Qatar for two years over a pay dispute but returned to France this week
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He says the people in Qatar are "working very hard" to stage the tournament
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Belounis suspects that his playing career is over as his "psychology is very bad"
It added: "It is also relevant to emphasize that up to now the player has not taken any action in front of the competent judicial bodies of @placeholder."