No white elephants in Qatar says 2022 FIFA World Cup bid

Qatar presents the most fascinating of the nine bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups between which FIFA’s executive will decide in Zurich on December. Whether the differences can outweigh the known strengths of the other contenders, when world federation president Sepp Blatter and his 23 colleagues begin their deliberations, is another matter. They will all have heard at first hand the ambitions of the Gulf state which has far more money than any other bidder to spend on what is, simultaneously, a three-handed regional, national and sporting promotional drive. Also at hand will be the report of the six-man inspection team which arrived today in the capital, Doha, for a three-day analysis.

Qatar is the last of the nine bids to welcome the FIFA inspectors, headed by Chilean federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls. Running against the gigantism trend afflicting major sports movements Qatar - with a population of 1.5m - would be the smallest nation ever to host the finals, smaller in size and population than Uruguay in 1930.But 2022 will be a vastly different from 1930. The Qataris know they have to convince FIFA that they can build the infrastructure, are refining the technology to ensure cool-temperature stadia and training grounds and can dismiss ‘white elephant’ fears with stadia which can be dismantled and shipped off to the developing world. Also, they hope it may just tickle the fancy of Blatter and Co – in the cutting-edge competition with the Olympic movement – to bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time.
Bid chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Khalifa al Thani, welcoming the FIFA inspectors, said: “We have been very honest about our bid,” and promised: “There will be no white elephants.”Cooling technology to counter the high June and July temperatures could be demonstrably zero-carbon and that the projected transportation network would be “fully discussed” to show “the compact nature of our bid. ”He added: “Today we do not meet FIFA requirements in terms of accommodation but by 2022 we will have 30,000 rooms or more, in excess of FIFA requirements. ”Concluding, Sheikh Mohammed said: “We have always had a few challenges and we have been very honest about them. Of all the bids the aspect of our weather is a challenge specific to Qatar but we will address all of this head-on. “To achieve the Middle-East dream FIFA must have full confidence and that is what are going to try to do to show that Qatar is the best possible partner for FIFA in 2022. ”Mayne-Nicholls thanked the Qataris on the inspectors’ behalf for their welcome, particularly considering the local holiday period.He promised: “Everything in our report will be done in a very objective way to put together all the information the exco members need to be sure about the decision they will be taking.”