altMarch 24 - Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (pictured), the son of the Emir of Qatar, today announced Qatar's team that will lead the country's bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

 

The chief executive will be Hassan Al-Thawadi, currently director of the legal department at the Qatar Investment Authority, and he will be helped by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a former international player who is now president of the Qatar Football

 

A delegation from Qatar last week met FIFA President Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke in Switzerland to submit the completed bid form.

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Sheikh Mohammed said: “We believe it is time to bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the very first time.
 
"A World Cup in Qatar in 2022 would be the first global sports event to be hosted in the region.
 
"What could be more fitting than it being the world’s favourite game that achieves this truly historic status?"
 
“Our Bid truly epitomises FIFA’s slogan ‘For the Game, For the World’.
 
"The World Cup in the Middle East would bring so many positive things to our region including friendships and understandings between competitors and spectators that would extend far beyond the World Cup itself.
 
alt“A World Cup held in the Middle East would provide an opportunity for greater understanding and unity between the Arab and Western worlds.
 
"It would allow the rest of the world to gain a true picture of Arab culture and hospitality.
 
"While winning the honour of hosting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar would provide a symbol of hope and inspiration for this whole region.
 
“This is a great moment for Qatar and the Middle East and I know that our bid will be enthusiastically supported by football fans of all ages across the whole region.
 
"We are extremely passionate about football and the region is craving for an event like this to take place. Qatar has the ability to host a prestigious tournament such as the World Cup finals and we look forward to presenting our Bid to the international football community.”
 
Qatar is concentrating its bid on hosting the 2022 World Cup, meaning that it will not go head-to-head with England for the 2018 tournament.
 
South Korea is the only other candidate bidding just for the 2022 World Cup but the other countries bidding for 2018 are also interested if they lose out on the earlier tournament.
 
Besides England, they are Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United States and joint bids from Portugal-Spain and Belgium-Netherlands.
 
Gas and oil rich Qatar failed in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics but successfully hosted the 2006 Asian Games and will host the 2011 Asian Cup football tournament.
 

The Persian state, which is only 4,416 square miles and has a population of just 1.5 million, is determined to host a major global event and is confident of landing the 2022 World Cup despite the tough opposition it will face.

 

Sheikh Mohammed said: “We know that we have a lot of work to do before the FIFA Executive Board makes its decision in December 2010.
 
Sheikh Hamad said: “We truly believe that a FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar would be good for football.
 
"I know that Qatar will be able to guarantee an exceptional tournament for the players, the fans and for FIFA. I am thrilled that Qatar is bidding for the 2022 World Cup and we look forward to working closely with the Bid Committee on the application.”
 
The next deadline in the bidding process is December 11, 2009, when all the bidders need to submit the signed hosting agreement.
 
The Bid Book must be submitted to FIFA by May 14, 2010.
 
FIFA will announce the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup at a meeting in December.


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January 2009: Qatar officially launches World Cup bid
December 2008: Qatar ready to officially launch bid for 2018 World Cup
June 2008: Qatar World Cup bid on the cards after Olympic snub