Did Qatar really buy the 2022 World Cup hosting Right? They certainly have the money.

Qatar is been accused by a report that it bought the right to the 2022 World Cup.

The Sunday Times claims it has “irrefutable” evidence in form of ‘hundreds of millions’ of documents which allegedly reveal disgraced former FIFA executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments to football officials in return for votes for Qatar.

However, the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee released a statement saying “In regard to the latest allegations from The Sunday Times, we say again that Mohamed Bin Hammam played no official or unofficial role in Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee. As was the case with every other member of FIFA’s Executive Committee, our bid team had to convince Mr. Bin Hammam of the merits of our bid’. It maintained that it upheld the highest standard of ethics and integrity in its successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

According to the newspaper, Bin Hammam used 10 slush funds controlled by his private company and cash handouts to make dozens of payment of up to $200,000 into accounts controlled by the presidents of 30 African football associations who influenced how the continent’s four executive’s members would vote. He also allegedly hosted lavish junkets for these African officials at which he handed out almost $400,000 in cash.

The bid committee is also saying Bin Hammam had no association with them.

My Take:

Issa Hayatou should resign as president of the confederation of African Football (CAF). Too many disgraceful allegations have been made against African football associations since he took over the helmsmen of Football in Africa. These are not coincidence. It’s a shame he is still the president after one allegation after another is pointing towards him. For sure, his 9 lives are running out.

Now, the Qatar bid committee is claiming they don’t have any association with Bin Hammam when in fact they had previously named him their best asset concerning the bid process in 2010.

Indeed success has so many fathers but failure is an orphan.