Looking at it objectively, I think Russia can be looked at, like the South Africa World Cup, as a legacy cup. Vastly improved infrastructure, host cities getting a boost out of their post-communist stagnation, and a potential massive audience for football.

Qatar however, seems to be a baffling choice. Apart from the fact that it is in the middle east which again is an untapped football market, it doesn't seem to make sense. The number of people in the country, needing to build that many stadiums will need a huge per capita investment for such a small country. Also, those stadia are unlikely to be filled on a regular basis afterwards. Let's say 10 stadia x 80,000 people each. It would need half the country to go on a regular basis to make those pay off. On the plus side though, I guess the retiring players lured by the big oil bucks will get a decent stadium in which to earn their pension.