Qatar 2022 World Cup chief insists country awarded tournament ‘on merit’ and reveals Olympics among more major sporting events country wants to host
Hassan Al-Thawadi, the Qatar 2022 organising chief, has told talkSPORT the country won the right to host the World Cup 'on merit'.
In an exclusive interview with Jim White and Simon Jordan, Al-Thawadi also declared Qatar has the desire to host more major sporting events and are keen on bringing the Olympics to the Middle East.
The 2022 World Cup was marred with controversy before a ball was even kicked, with allegations of corruption and bribery surrounding how Qatar bid for and eventually won the right to hold the competition.
Now, Al-Thawadi - Secretary General of the Supreme World Cup Committee for Delivery and Legacy - has insisted that Qatar did nothing wrong and fully deserve to stage the tournament.
"England bid in 2018, England participated in the bid, everybody participated in the bid," he said.
"Broadcasters bid for the rights for two World Cups, whether it was a right call or not a right call or whatever else it is, or having the various motivations you allude to I can't comment on that.
"We saw an opportunity, 2022 was presented, we bid for 2022, I think at the time I think we were the only bidding nation that was very clear we just went for 2022.
"Everybody else were hedging their bets between 2018 and 2022. We were clear from day one we wanted 2022.
"What I'm saying though is at the time everybody was participating, everybody participated, nobody raised issues about the bidding process and so on, that's not for me to comment on.
"We ran our bid, we looked at what was perceived as weak points in our bid, and we turned them into positives. The size of the country was considered a negative element.
"We talked about a compact World Cup. We talked about the ability to see more than four matches in one day. Since we won, a lot of people ridiculed that, a lot of people laughed at it, a lot of people said it was unimaginable. You see it happening.
"The promise we made in 2009-2010 is being delivered."
When asked by Jim White to confirm that the tournament hadn't been won with a hint of corruption, Al-Thawadi said: "On merit. We were awarded on merit. We were the best bid."
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated recently that it was a 'mistake' that Qatar were awarded this year's tournament.
There had been an investigation into the alleged bidding corruption surrounding this year's tournament, carried out by independent ethics investigator Michael J. Garcia.
But Al-Thawdi says the findings in the report only further proved Qatar won the right to host the tournament fairly, and accusations have led him to question why people don't want it to be in the Middle East.
He continued: "It's been looked at, it's been investigated, it's been cleared. What more can I say?
"I think Blatter was very clear as to where he wanted it to go, he was very clear from day one where he wanted it to go.
"But let me tell you something. Are you trying to tell me this part of the world doesn't deserve its time in the sun?
"The Michael Garcia report, if you look into relation in our part, there's a statement there that was very clear that people seem to gloss over, the level of engagement that we offered Garcia, he commended us for it.
"We were acting as if he had the authority to demand any document that he wanted. We worked very professionally and transparently with him and openly with him, which he states in the report itself.
"If you read the report thoroughly, there's a lot of these allegations out there which he says facts on the ground indicate are false. It's in black and white for anyone that wants to, they can go and take a look at it.
"Having said that, that chapter is over, I just wanted to address it for you and put it towards you seeing as you asked the question. But that chapter is over."
When quizzed by White if the World Cup will lead to Qatar wanting to host another major sporting event such as the Olympics, Al-Thawadi confirmed the country had certainly showed their interest.
"I think we've bid a number of times," he said. "I don't know if we're going to continue bidding or not, there's a whole different team responsible for that.
"But I believe that we've bid, we've shown our interest and we've shown our desire and motivation to host it, yes. I think it's on the books."
On Qatar's right to host major sporting events, he added: "Why is Europe so obsessed by sport? Why is it OK to host golf tournaments in Europe and in the States. Why is it OK to have boxing matches in Europe and the States, and in Japan, for example.
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"People question what the importance of sports is in the Middle East. If you walk down the streets, you will find avid fans of every single sport you can imagine and some you haven't heard of.
"It is a little bit strange because our part of the world has to justify our interest when since the start of the Premier League, you have had interest coming in from Russian investors, from American investors, from Chinese, from Thai, from all parts of the world. Why not the Middle East? And people don't understand the passion we have for sports."