Doha: Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers said on Friday their bid was conducted “with integrity and to the highest ethical standards” following allegations of wide-scale corruption within Fifa, world football’s governing body.
A statement from Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the planning of the World Cup in the Gulf state, read: “We wish to reiterate that we have fully complied with every investigation that has been initiated concerning the 2018/2022 bidding process and we will continue to do so, should this be requested.
“We conducted our bid with integrity and to the highest ethical standards.”
It added: “Our aim through hosting the Fifa World Cup is to utilise the positive power of sport to unify people and demonstrate the passion for football in our region to a global audience.
“We share Fifa’s vision that football has a unique power to unite.
“We believe that an event of this magnitude can and should serve as a platform for accelerating positive change and our belief in these principals remains steadfast.”
It is the first official statement made by Qatar since the dawn arrests some 48 hours earlier of seven Fifa officials in their Zurich hotel, prompting the most serious crisis faced by football’s governing body.
Those arrested officials now face extradition to the US, where they are accused of allegedly accepting bribes worth tens of millions of dollars.
Following the arrests, Swiss investigators separately announced they are looking into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
