According to a report from the Times, Qatar has offered a total of $880m to FIFA as ‘secret payment’.
According to leaked files procured by The Sunday Times, Qatar has allegedly made a huge payment to FIFA over the host rights of 2022 World Cup.
Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup in 2022 in the 2010 ballot.
The documents reportedly reveal that Qatari-run state broadcast Al Jazeera – which is owned by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, signed a television contract making a huge offer of $400m to FIFA. The contract was signed merely 21 days before they were awarded the 2022 World Cup.
According to The Times, the contract also included an unprecedented fee of $100m – a ‘success fee’, as the report calls it.
The fee would only be paid to FIFA if Qatar was successful in winning the rights to host the World Cup.
Qatar bribed FIFA?
“In the event that the 2022 competition is awarded to the state of Qatar, Al Jazeera shall, in addition to the . . . rights fee, pay to Fifa into the designated account the monetary amount of $100m,” the document read.
FIFA will receive the amount in the next month, according to the terms of the contract.
The Sunday Times further allege that Qatar made another offer of $480m three years later – making a total of $880m to gain and retain the rights to host the tournament in 2022.
The contract is now under investigation of a bribery enquiry from Swiss police.
The leak of the documents come raises questions over the transparency of the process to award the hosting rights for the World Cup.
If the allegations are indeed true, Qatar effectively bought the rights to host the 32-nation tournament.
FIFA refused to make a comment on the allegations.
How Twitter reacted..
According to documents seen by The Sunday Times, executives from the Qatari state-run broadcaster Al Jazeera signed a TV contract making a huge offer to Fifa just days before the world football’s governing body decided to hold the 2022 World Cup in the … https://t.co/LoVfOsA7Xt
— The Times of London (@thetimes) March 10, 2019
Qatar secretly slammed down an extraordinary four hundred million dollar offer in television cash on Fifa’s table … just 21 days before the sports body gave the Gulf state its ultimate prize: the 2022 World Cup https://t.co/qgzCrM4CDe
— The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) March 9, 2019
An absolute disgrace. The World Cup should be not be held in Qatar. https://t.co/r9ibFqTzzO
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) March 10, 2019
The state of #Qatar secretly offered $400m to #FIFA just 21 days before the governing body controversially decided that the 2022 World Cup would be held in the tiny desert country, leaked documents have revealed. https://t.co/9oJa0KuAPt
— Security Studies Group (@SecStudiesGrp) March 10, 2019
Investigation reveals Qatar offered $400m to Fifa for lucrative TV deal with a promise of $100m if Qatar was awarded 2022 World Cup tournament https://t.co/A0l19xeOLQ pic.twitter.com/7JKefxHMYU
— Arab News (@arabnews) March 10, 2019
“I’m shocked, shocked” Qatar’s secret $880m World Cup payments to Fifahttps://t.co/xYNLhzQyOt
— Kenneth Weinstein (@KenWeinstein) March 10, 2019
What next?
The investigations are ongoing after the allegations were made online.
