Holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is a "done deal," a confident head of the Gulf state's organizing committee said, shrugging off "ongoing corruption and human rights concerns," according to the AFP. Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy Secretary General Hassan al-Thawadi told local Arabic daily Al-Sharq that football's biggest tournament "will go ahead in the Middle East despite calls elsewhere for Qatar to be stripped of hosting rights." Al-Thawadi: "The 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, the first in a Middle Eastern, Arab and Muslim country. It is a done deal." Qatar is the subject of an ongoing corruption investigation being carried out by Switzerland's Attorney General office. The Swiss legal team "is investigating the bidding process amid allegations of corruption." But Al-Thawadi said, "I am totally confident our file is clean" (AFP, 11/7).
GREEN STADIUMS: The QNA reported FIFA has officially endorsed the use of the Global Sustainability Assessment System for 2022 World Cup venues at the Green Expo Forum in Doha. This came as the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy "reiterated its commitment to delivering stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup that are built with a focus on sustainability" (QNA, 11/7).
