Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern hosts of the World Cup after Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, announced the 22 executive committee members had voted to award the 2022 tournament to a country of only 1.7m people, beating off the rival bids from the United States, who had been considered the favourites by many, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
Qatar's bid had centred on an appeal to Fifa to take "a bold gamble" by taking the World Cup to a region where football is popular and is beginning to emerge as world player in global sport. The victory will be viewed as a triumph for Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Fifa executive member, and president of the Asia Football Confederation, who is the favourite to succeed Blatter.
The US could point to its pedigree of having already staged the 1994 World Cup, which drew vast crowds, plus commercial and financial guarantees, and the opportunity for Fifa to make further inroads into a country where baseball, basketball and the NFL still rule the sporting landscape.
But despite concerns regarding the blistering heat it was Qatar who convinced the Fifa voters. "We know it would be a bold gamble and an exciting prospect but with no risk," the bid chief executive, Hassan Al-Thawadi, said. "Heat is not and will not be an issue."
2022 voting breakdown
First round: Australia 1, Japan 3, USA 3, South Korea 4, Qatar 11 (Australia eliminated)
Second round: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)
Third round: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)
Fourth round: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute majority)
