Qatar Confident About Hosting All-Indoor World Cup

• ESPN Soccernet, Wednesday, August 5, 2009 4 PM

The USA isn't the only country out there actively and aggressively lobbying for attention to their bid for a World Cup that is almost 13 years away. "Far, far in the western-most corner of Asia, a tiny country is putting its nose up at the football establishment with a bid for the 2022 World Cup which no one is quite taking seriously," writes Matthias Krug. That said, upon further review, Qatar's "hi-tech bid is not as outrageous as it might seem."

"In one of the most prosperous countries on the planet, oil and gas riches are allowing the Middle Eastern nation to concoct a World Cup bid that will spare no superlatives," continues Krug. In order to counteract a sweltering desert heat that has killed past hosting opportunities, Qatar is "quietly drawing up a revolutionary change ... to make the event effectively the first all-indoor edition in the history of the competition."

"We strongly believe that it is time for the world's favorite game to come to the Middle East," said Qatar's 2022 Bid CEO Hassan Abdulla Al Thawadi, one of many insiders that believe "the stereotype-breaking edition in Africa could open the doors to what seems an equally unlikely World Cup in the Middle East" and are "keen to press home (FIFA President Sepp) Blatter's original point that every region deserves a shot at soccer's biggest prize."

Read the whole story at ESPN Soccernet »