"I recognise why those not involved in the process might find Qatar's success difficult to understand.

"Qatar does not have a rich football history.

"We are a small country.

"Temperatures are high in the summer."

Qatar's bid has shrouded in accusations of bribery and corruption since they beat rivals Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States when FIFA's ruling Executive Committee voted at its meeting in Zurich in December 2010.

British newspaper The Sunday Times has recently published a series of allegations that Mohamed bin Hammam, Qatar's then FIFA vice-president, paid more than $5 million (£3 million/€4 million) to officials linked to sport's governing body to get support for the country to host the World Cup in 2022.

Qatar have always denied the allegations and insisted that they did not break any rules, pointing to the support of key football figures like former French captain Zinedine Zidane as an indication they had a credible bid.

Former French captain Zinedine Zidane was among those who backed Qatar's bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup ©AFP/Getty Images 
FIFA investigator Michael Garcia has spent several months probing the bid process for both the 2022 and 2018 World Cup events and is due to deliver his report at the end of this month. 

"I accept that we spent more money campaigning than other bids but this was solely to catch up with our better known rivals," Sheikh Hamad wrote in The Australian. 

"So we had to tell people about our country and what we could offer, to overcome the perceived obstacles and communicate our ambitions to a global audience.

"From the day we launched our bid to the day we won the contest in Zurich, we played strictly by the rules.

"It is why we are happy to cooperate fully with FIFA's inquiry.

"We have nothing to hide or fear.

"However unfairly, our wealth alone fuels suspicions.

"But our bid succeeded not because these big questions were ignored but because we provided compelling answers.

"We turned each challenge to our advantage.

"We won because our bid was seen as the best."

FIFA President Sepp Blatter hands over the World Cup trophy to the then Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife Chair, after the country had been awarded the 2022 tournament ©AFP/Getty Images

Sheikh Hamad also claimed they want to host the tournament in June and July despite fears that it will need to be moved to the winter to avoid the searing hot conditions in the Gulf State during that time of the year. 

"The heat of our summer is seen by critics as the main reason why we could not possibly have won the finals fair and square," he writes.

"But we showed how matches could be played and watched in comfortable conditions.

"Playing the tournament in winter was not part of our bid.

"It might seem to some that air-conditioned stadiums are flights of fancy but we have had cooling systems for outdoor events since 2008.

"We have invested in research and development to find how cooling could be powered by solar and renewable technologies, which we promised FIFA we would share with others."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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