Qatar paid millions to host 2022 World Cup: UK paper

The Sunday Times has alleged that Mohamed bin Hammam, then a Fifa executive member for Qatar, used slush funds to pay top football officials to win a “groundswell” of support for Qatar’s World Cup bid.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter announces Qatar as the host nation for the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Zurich December 2, 2010. Michael Probst/ Associated Press

LONDON // A former top Qatari football official paid out millions of dollars to get support for the country’s controversial campaign to host the 2022 World Cup, a British newspaper alleged on Sunday.

The Sunday Times said it had obtained millions of emails and other documents relating to alleged payments made by Mohamed Bin Hammam, then a Fifa executive member for Qatar.

It alleged that Mr bin Hammam, who is also an former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president, used slush funds to pay cash to top football officials to win a “groundswell” of support for Qatar’s World Cup bid.

Mr bin Hammam, who launched an abortive challenge against incumbent Fifa president Sepp Blatter, resigned from his Fifa and AFC posts in 2012, shortly before he was banned for life from football administration by the global governing body’s ethics committee.

Football’s world governing body Fifa is investigating the 2010 vote that awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar and the 2018 tournament to Russia, following previous corruption accusations.

A report by Fifa chief investigator Michael Garcia, a top US lawyer, is to be finalised this year.

He is due to meet senior officials from the Qatar 2022 organising committee in Oman on Monday. But that meeting may now have to be postponed in light of the Sunday Times revelations.

Fifa and Qatar are already under pressure because the 2022 event will be held in the searing heat of Qatar’s summer. Fifa’s president wants the tournament held in the northern winter, for the first time, because of the problem.

British media have made repeated allegations about the Qatar campaign to secure the tournament.

The Sunday Times said Mr bin Hammam had made payments of up to US$200,000 (Dh734,620) into accounts controlled by the presidents of 30 African football associations, and hosted hospitality events in Africa at which he handed out further funds to get backing for Qatar’s bid.

He also paid $1.6 million into bank accounts controlled by Jack Warner, the former vice-president of Fifa, $450,000 of which was before the vote for the World Cup, the Sunday Times said.

Mr Warner was one of the 22 people who in 2010 decided to award Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 tournament. He stood down in 2011.

The latest allegations come two months after Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper alleged that a company owned by Mr bin Hammam had paid money to Mr Warner.

Mr bin Hammam did not respond to questions from the Sunday Times and his son declined to comment on his behalf, the newspaper said.

It quoted the Qatari committee behind the World Cup bid as denying that Mr Bin Hammam played any secret role in their campaign.

The decision to give the World Cup to Qatar, a country with little football history, provoked widespread condemnation particularly over health concerns for players forced to play in the desert nation’s stifling summer heat.

Mr Blatter said in May that it was a mistake to choose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup because of the country’s sweltering summertime climate.

The new allegations will place Fifa under fresh pressure to re-run the vote for the 2022 World Cup, which was held in conjunction with the vote for the 2018 tournament.

Adding to suspicions of corruption in world football, a confidential Fifa report obtained by the New York Times has raised concerns about the possibility World Cup match-fixing less than two weeks before the next edition of the tournament kicks off in Brazil.

The 44-page report looked into attempts to influence international warm-up matches in South Africa ahead of the 2010 tournament.

The report said that in all, fixers manipulated “at least five matches and possibly more” and targeted up to 15 matches, including a US-Australia fixture, according to the newspaper.

The World Cup this year is expected to earn Fifa about $4 billion from sponsor deals, television rights and ticket sales at this year’s World Cup.

* Agence France-Presse