By Duncan Mackay
January 13 – Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup has received its most high-profile endorsement so far after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured) said that he believes that they could host the tournament.
Sir Alex, who has taken his multi-million pound squad to Doha for a four-day training trip, is visiting Qatar for the first time and is clearly impressed.
The Scot has claimed that Qatar’s relatively compact size could be an advantage in its bid.
He said: “In South Africa, travelling between places is quite extensive and may be more difficult for fans to get all over the country, that’s where a small country like Qatar could have a big advantage in their bid to host a World Cup.
“Security may be the biggest issue.
“But then again, you don’t see any crime, any problems with hooliganism here.
“So you’d think that they would cope with that.”
Qatar’s bid has now been praised by arguably the world’s two leading coaches, following a visit there last month by Pep Guardiola, who in 2009 guided Barcelona to an unprecedented six major trophies, including the Champions League, when the Spanish side beat Manchester United in the final in Rome.
Manchester United’s visit is the second high-profile football occasion in Qatar in three months, following the successful friendly between five-time world champions Brazil and England at the Al Khalifa Stadium in Doha in November.
Sir Alex said: “The game added the value to Qatar as a host of big games.
“It definitely was a big incentive for Qatar as they are hoping to bring the World Cup to the region in 2022.
“They were telling FIFA that we can do this, which was the whole idea of that exercise.”
Sir Alex has also praised the state-of-the-art facilities at the Aspire Academy, where United have been based.
He said: ”Although we play in our own facility in Carrington, this is something special here.
“The turf is stunning.
“We should feel envious.
“[We’ve] wanted to come here for some years.
“This is the first opportunity to do it and we’re very pleased.”
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