Papers question Qatar spending spree to secure 2022 World Cup

By Andrew Warshaw

January 15 – Qatar’s landslide 2022 World Cup bid victory has burst into yet more controversy with two newspapers – one on either side of the Atlantic – questioning how they did it.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the Daily Telegraph have both uncovered fresh material which highlights the massive marketing and communications campaign undertaken by Qatar as they sought to bring the tournament to the Middle East for the first time.

According to the WSJ, the campaign was marked by a spending spree which, crucially, included investments in the home countries of several members of the FIFA Executive Committee – 14 of whom ultimately voted for the tiny Gulf state.

Although Qatar broke no rules, the paper suggested such behaviour exerted indirect influence on what it described as “international soccer’s small circle of decision-makers”.

All bidding countries used ambassadors for their respective campaigns but few, if any, of Qatar’s were from its own territory.

According to documents and unnamed sources, the WSJ alleged Qatar paid world-famous luminaries from France, Spain, Argentina and elsewhere a small fortune in connection with endorsements.

Again the Qataris worked within perfectly fair guidelines but the article made it abundantly clear that no amount of money was spared to get what they needed to promote their bid.

FIFA’s decision to award the World Cup to Qatar capped a scandal-plagued process that included allegations of vote-trading collusion between Qatar and Spain-Portugal’s 2018 bid.

Neither bid was found to have breached the rules but the way Qatar skirted round them has long been the subject of speculation.

Interestingly, the Qatar Bid Committee documents seen by the WSJ showed how the country’s much-lauded Aspire sports academy was extended into 15 countries worldwide, six of which had FIFA voting members.

Ever since Qatar won the 2022 bid FIFA has faced a growing backlash because of concerns over the stifling summer heat and the decision to give the World Cup to a country half the size of Wales.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter is one of many who have jumped on the bandwagon calling for a switch to the winter months.

Now, after an outcry over Qatar’s credentials, comes a ruthless exposure of the money-no-object way in which they conducted their campaign.

The Daily Telegraph said Qatar proposed to spend £27 million ($43 million) last year alone on communications and revealed the lengths to which the emirate went to win the vote.

These included a proposal to offer financial assistance to the Argentine Football Association, which suffered a financial crisis in August 2009; discussing investment opportunities with Real Madrid and developing an existing relationship with Barcelona; and proposing moving the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation, which has four FIFA votes, from Malaysia to Doha.

“The Qatar bid played within the rules laid down by FIFA at all times,” a spokesman for the bid was quoted by the paper as saying.

“The ultimate success of our bid was due to the strong presentations we made to FIFA’s Executive Committee members and the strength and breadth of our case.

“Attempts to smear the success of the Qatari bid are without foundation and are being made without objectively assessing all the bids’ performances or merits.”

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