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Qatar out to break through with World Cup bid

Qatar is aiming to become the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup when the world football body’s executive committee votes on Thursday to decide the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

A FIFA technical committee inspection report released earlier this month had termed Qatar a potential “health risk” for players and spectators because of summer temperatures in June and July which hover around the 50 degree Celsius mark.

But the bid team has dismissed such fears with promises of a glitzy, compact and carbon-neutral World Cup that will be held in solar-powered stadiums where temperatures would be maintained at a comfortable 27 degrees with the help of modern technology.

Qatar, a small strip of land that juts out into the Gulf, has a population of just over 1.5 million while the combined population of its 2022 rivals, the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia, exceeds 500 million.

However, it’s the bid’s strong Middle Eastern flavour that officials hope will clinch the 2022 tournament despite the fact that the country’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics on the same platform had ended in failure.

Qatar 2022 Bid Chief Hassan al-Thawadi stressed upon this factor when he made a presentation on the “The impact of a Middle Eastern World Cup” at the Aspire4Sport Exhibition and Congress in Doha earlier this month

“A World Cup in Qatar in 2022 has the power to inject the region with a newfound unity and economic diversity, driving an influx of businesses in new markets, increasing employment opportunities and raise the profile of Qatar and the region,” al-Thawadi said

“Regional governments as well as public and private sectors will be engaged in the development of World Cup infrastructure, public transportation, telecommunications, and other key sectors.

Al-Thawadi said Qatar had already made a significant impact with its bid even though the actual event was almost 12 years away.

“Twelve years of planning, preparation and intense economic activity and development before the event will undoubtedly result in a boost for the whole region, creating opportunities for collaboration and mutual investment.”

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who visited Qatar in April, had also spoken in favour of a first ever World Cup in the region.

“The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament,” he said.

“When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million.

“In terms of infrastructure, when you are able to organise the Asian Games (in 2006) with more than 30 events for men and women, then that is not in question.”