The newly-appointed president of the Asian Football Confederation has backed Qatar to host a successful World Cup in 2022 following growing concerns from Europe.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has reiterated the AFC’s support to the Gulf state’s plans to host the tournament in a statement posted on the AFC website.
“The AFC is confident that Qatar will host a magnificent World Cup; under the guidance of FIFA; and with it only being the 2nd time that Asia plays host to a FIFA World Cup – we are sure that Qatar will make Asia proud,” he said.
He added that he was confident FIFA “will make the best decision for all”.
Sheikh Salman also added that Asian teams will be “legitimate contenders” in the 2022 tournament.
His comments come following mounting worries about the summer heat facing players and fans in Qatar.
The possibility of switching the event to the winter has sparked widespread opposition from top officials in Europe’s major football leagues.
Most recently, English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore spoke out on the matter, saying a winter tournament would be “nigh-on impossible”.
“At the end of the day, FIFA made a decision which is for none of us to comment on,” Scudamore said on Thursday. “They decided the World Cup will be in the summer in Qatar.
“Our view is, if that is deemed not possible by FIFA, they need to move the location. We can’t just, on a whim, decide to move to the winter.”
South Korea and Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup in the hot East Asian summer, the only time the region has hosted football’s showpiece event.
Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 tournament has been controversial since it won hosting rights in 2010.
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