After a long bid process between Australia, Japan, Qatar and the United States, Qatar was named the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar will be the first country in the Middle East to host the World Cup.
In a press conference held after being selected, Sheik Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Chairman of the Qatar 2022
Bid Committee, expressed his excitement at FIFA’s decision.
“On behalf of the millions of people living in the Middle East, thank you, thank you for believing in us,” Al-Thani said. “I can personally promise you that we will not let you down.”
Former President Bill Clinton, along with actor Morgan Freeman and Olympic gold medalist Mia Hamm, were in Zurich Thursday to pitch the U.S.’s bid for the World Cup.
Soon after the decision was announced, Clinton said he thought that FIFA wanted to expand soccer throughout the world and try to embrace the Middle East.
President Barack Obama said in a statement after the announcement that he thought that FIFA made the “wrong decision” in picking Qatar over the U.S., which has had experience hosting large sporting events.
The U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994.
Part of what helped Qatar in its bidding process was the amount of money the small country said it would put into the tournament.
Qatar promised to spend $40 billion on a rail and metro system to transport World Cup fans as part of its bid.
The Qatar bid committee also addressed in their proposal the impact the World Cup would have in helping to shed a new light on the Middle East.
“Thank you also for acknowledging that this is the right time for the Middle East,” Al-Thani said in the press conference. “We acknowledge that there is a lot of work for us to do, but we also stand by our promise that we will deliver.”
In the contest for the 2018 World Cup, Russia beat out England as well as joint bidders Netherlands-Belgium and Spain-Portugal.
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