Qatar accused of World Cup bid sabotage

Qatar’s World Cup team used a secret “black operations” propaganda campaign to undermine rival bids in violation of Fifa rules, a British newspaper has reported.

The Sunday Times claims whistleblower emails show the bid team paid a PR firm and ex-CIA agents to disseminate “fake propaganda” concerning main rivals Australia and the US during its campaign to host the 2022 tournament.

Qatar’s strategy was to create the impression there was “zero support” to host the World Cup among the rival bidding countries’ populations, the paper said.

One of the core criteria considered by Fifa is said to be that the bids should have a strong backing from domestic populations.

Bidders are also prohibited from making “any written or oral statement ... about the bids or candidatures of any other member association”.

But one of the leaked emails the Times claims to have obtained was sent to Qatar’s deputy bid leader Ali al-Thawadi, and allegedly shows the state was aware of plots to spread “poison” against other bidders before Qatar won the right to host the event in December 2010.

Such actions went as far as planning a resolution for US Congress on the “harmful” effects of the American World Cup proposition, as well as paying a US professor $9,000 to compose a report on the economic burden the competition would present.