Qatar promises heat-beating World Cup
Reuters - Tuesday 24 November 2009, 04:58
KUALA LUMPUR - The searing desert heat of
a Middle East summer will be no obstacle to Qatar hosting a
World Cup finals, the Gulf State's bid chief said on Tuesday
while promising new heat-confounding technologies.
Qatar hopes to stage the 2022 extravaganza and
painted an alluring picture to the sport's insiders meeting in
the Malaysian capital this week.
"It will be hot, but not too hot," the bid's CEO Hassan Al
Thawadi told reporters. "We are developing technology which
will help with the June and July heat and conditions."
Temperatures can easily top 40 degrees Celcius (104
Fahrenheit) during the period a World Cup would be staged.
Al Thawadi would not be drawn on whether the technology
meant a series of air-conditioned indoor stadiums but said an
announcement would be made very soon.
Both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup host nations will be
selected by the sport's global governing body FIFA in December
2010.
South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup and Brazil the
2014 tournament.
Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, the United
States and joint bids from Portugal-Spain and
Belgium-Netherlands are bidding for both the 2018 and 2022
events.
REGIONAL ROTATION
Qatar and South Korea are bidding only to stage the 2022
edition.
"We made an assessment of when we could host a truly
historic World Cup," Al Thawadi said.
"In 2018 we would be ready to stage a very successful World
Cup but by '22 we can guarantee something truly historic -
every year counts."
For either Qatar or South Korea to stand a chance of
hosting 2022 they must hope an Asian nation does not win the
2018 Cup as FIFA regulations demand regional rotation.
Qatar are pushing their bid on the merits of technology
development, an historic first global sporting event for the
Middle East and the compact nature of the plan.
Rather than being a disadvantage, Al Thawadi said Qatar's
size - a peninsula of 11,437 sq. km - would prove a great
benefit to fans.
"People will be able to remain in one city throughout the
Cup. They will be able to travel to other cities to watch
matches and then return to where they are staying, without
worrying about accommodation.
"Hosting the World Cup in the Middle East will allow
everybody from the East and the West to come together and
celebrate."