Hammam: Qatar 2022 will not be shared
DOHA - The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be jointly hosted by other Gulf nations as requested by UEFA head Michel Platini, AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam told reporters on Saturday.
Bin Hammam has often appeared frustrated when asked questions about possibly moving the dates of the World Cup or sharing matches and he again looked stern when saying the tiny Gulf emirate would host matches alone.
"Qatar submitted a bid to organise the World Cup and it is fair for Qatar to organise all the matches,' Bin Hammam told reporters at the Khalifa Stadium.
"It has never been discussed that the matches should be played in other countries as well. I do not think that any country will be part of the competition in that respect."
Bin Hammam said that the surrounding regions would still benefit from Qatar's hosting of the 2022 tournament.
"The impact of the World Cup is very huge. Of course the biggest impact will be in Qatar, but the region will also benefit.
"The region will benefit from tourists coming, it will benefit economically, a lot of infrastructure will need to be built. Football will be promoted in a huge way and I think the legacy that football will be leaving in this reason will be huge."
Platini, who has continually called for the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East to be shared and moved to the cooler winter months, will join Bin Hammam at the Asian Cup final between Japan and Australia in Doha later on Saturday.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
TERMS SET
Bin Hammam remains a popular figure throughout Asia and was sworn in unchallenged for a third and final term as the head of the AFC earlier this month.
The 61-year-old Qatari said it was important that maximum terms were set to avoid complacency in the position.
"I'm afraid... our main aim is how to protect myself sitting in the seat and not how we do for the future," Bin Hammam answered when asked what were the dangers of having a president sat in a role for too long.
"I have done a lot (in my eight years in charge of the AFC)and someone else must come and take over with new ideas if I want to stay more I will think how can I protect my position my seat."
The comments could be seen as a dig at FIFA president Sepp Blatter, 74, who is seeking a fourth term as the head of world football in June.
The pair have endured a frosty relationship and Bin Hammam, who continues to duck questions about possible running for the presidency at the FIFA congress in June, again questioned the way FIFA is being run under the Swiss' leadership.
"The people today are complaining a lot about how FIFA runs its business. There are a lot of changes that have to be added to the FIFA practices."
In what could also be seen as a slight dig at Blatter, Bin Hammam laughed off a question on whether he wanted to be FIFA president when the 2022 World Cup comes to his homeland.
"I'll be 73 then. I won't be in any key sporting positions by 2022."