Doha, Jul 29 (Gulf Times): Qatar is optimistic on its chances of hosting the 2022 World Cup, the bid’s chief executive said yesterday in the countdown to a decision by football’s governing body FIFA on December 2.
Hassan al-Thawadi said he expected tough competition but believed Qatar had made huge progress since launching its bid in May 2009.

“What I like to say is this: I am optimistic, I am very, very optimistic,” al-Thawadi said after a media presentation held on the sidelines of a football forum in Singapore.

“We have made great strides over the past year and a half since we submitted our bid registration... I think it will be a close call.”
Success for Qatar would not only bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time but would boost the game throughout the region, he said.

Qatar has played host to major sporting events, including the Asian Games in 2006, but securing the World Cup would be the crowning achievement for the state. It has backed its bid with a seemingly limitless budget and ambitious plans to improve its transport network.

Qatar, South Korea, Japan and Australia are bidding to host the 2022 World Cup, while England, Russia and the US are vying to host the event either in 2018 or 2022, as are Spain-Portugal and the Netherlands-Belgium.
If Europe gets 2018, the continent will be excluded from the 2022 race.

Speaking on the sidelines of the same Soccerex Asian Forum, Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam threw his support behind the bid by his home country of Qatar.

“I have one vote... And frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the run, I will vote for another Asian country,” Bin Hammam said.

“I am president of Asia so it is my duty to see that (the) World Cup will be hosted in Asia, no matter which country.”
Bin Hammam also backed a potential World Cup bid from China, which is exploring the feasibility of a bid for 2026 - but only if Asia loses out in 2022.

“China has hosted the Olympics in 2008... and I would not hesitate at all actually to support China if any of our nations did not succeed in 2022,” he said.

“I am grateful for the support shown by (Bin Hammam),” al-Thawadi said.

“He has always understood the benefits that a World Cup will bring to Qatar and the Middle East, and he has been pioneering in his vision.

“A World Cup in Qatar will be an historic opportunity for FIFA, for the teams, officials, fans and the people of the Arab world, helping bridging cultures between the East and the West and above all changing the perception of the region.”
The four-yearly World Cup was played in Asia for the first time in 2002 when South Korea and Japan co-hosted the footballing extravaganza. This year the tournament made its African debut, with Spain triumphant in South Africa.