MANILA // Qatar dismissed new allegations of corruption in the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup as they basked in strong support from Fifa chief Sepp Blatter and Asian football officials.
Read more: Sepp Blatter continues to back Qatar to host Fifa World Cup 2022, writes John McAuley
Qatar 2022 communications chief Nasser Al Khater said “reader fatigue” was setting in after a British newspaper printed fresh claims of vote-buying by 2018 hosts Russia and the wealthy Gulf state.
He said it was telling that the Sunday Times sought parliamentary privilege, a defence against libel, before publishing unproven claims it says were secretly compiled by Britain’s bid team for the 2018 event.
“What I understand is that they went to parliament before publishing, to get parliamentary privilege,” Al Khater said at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) awards in Manila late on Sunday.
“I guess that tells you the story... there’s a story that came up but they went to the select committee in parliament, so already that tells me that they’re looking for some protection.”
Asia’s second World Cup enjoys staunch backing from regional officials, with Blatter earning loud applause when he told the gala dinner: “The World Cup 2022 will be played in Qatar.”
Controversy again engulfed Asia’s second World Cup when investigator Michael Garcia disowned the findings of his report into the bidding process, as presented by Fifa.
Widespread calls to make the report public have fallen on deaf ears. Al Khater said: “At this point our opinion is that this report isn’t in relation to Qatar, as a lot of people make it sound.”
He added: “I’m pretty sure people are already feeling tired of this story. I think there’s already reader fatigue in terms of this story. For us we’re just focused on our work, we don’t really pay attention to it.”
Al Khater said worker welfare was a top priority, after Amnesty International published claims of forced labour and Germany’s football boss said Qatar should be stripped of the World Cup if it cannot improve its human rights record.
Qatar will publish an interim workers’ welfare report this week, looking at issues like the sourcing of labour and accommodation. Hundreds of migrant workers have died in the wealthy Gulf state.
“We recognise that there’s been some problems, but we also recognise that there’s been tremendous progress on this issue as well,” Al Khater said.
Work has started on five stadiums and engineers are developing air-cooled training venues and fan zones. A 1,500-capacity fan site was successfully cooled during the Brazil World Cup and can be scaled up, Al Khater said.
He added that several dates were in play for 2022, which faces being moved to winter months to avoid the harsh desert summer. But a spring and autumn tournament are also possible, according to Al Khater.
“We’ve heard something as early as September or October, we’ve heard November-December, we’ve heard January-February, we’ve heard May and then we’ve heard the traditional date of June-July,” he said.
“So you have several dates on the table right now.”
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Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More coverage from the Future Forum
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
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The five pillars of Islam
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
