On the Scene - Qatar and Russia World Cup Bids Highlight Legacy Benefits

(ATR) Qatar World Cup bid chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani reaffirmed his role as an outstanding young leader in world football with an assured performance at the bid handover ceremony in Zurich.

"Today we present to you a bid we are very proud of, one which we believe will leave a lasting legacy for the people of the Middle East and the world," he told FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

"We ask that the same way the doors have been kicked down in Africa this year that the same opportunities be given to us."

Blatter seemed enamoured with the idea of a Middle Eastern bid, also one from such a small country.

"We are very happy about the bid of the Arab countries, but also a bid of a country not of the dimensions expected of the World Cup," Blatter said.

"At FIFA we have 208 national associations: there are no big ones and no small ones they are just good members of FIFA. And obviously the Qatari football association is one of the good members of FIFA."

Qatar, Russia, Spain-Portugal and USA were the last of the nine 2018/2022 World Cup bids to present their files to FIFA. Earlier today, Australia, England, Holland-Belgium, Japan and South Korea submitted their dossiers to Blatter.

Russia plays up World Cup legacy benefits

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says Russia has everything in place to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

"It’s clear for everybody that Russia can provide the infrastructure, and present a modernized face to the world," Shuvalov said after handing his country’s bid book to Blatter.

He added that 13 cities are ready to host the World Cup, even if fewer may be selected in the end.

Shuvalov said that the bid dossier includes "concrete plans" to build several stadia to meet FIFA’s requirements and that Russia, with its 200 million people, could bring "development on a different level".

"This book doesn’t contain only information … it contains Russia’s future," he said.

Shuvalov also gave Blatter a letter from Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Blatter, who greeted Russia’s bid committee CEO Alexey Sorokin by calling him "my friend," stressed how important it is for bidding countries to have the backing of their governments. "Without their guarantees, it’s impossible to organize a World Cup," he said.

Spain-Portugal builds on experience, unity

Spain-Portugal bid officials stressed that both countries have the experience to host major sports events and added that their governments and people are "excited" at the prospect of hosting a World Cup.

"We can deliver the best organised, safest and most entertaining World Cup," said Angel Maria Villar Llona, president of the bid, adding that the two countries enjoy "great understanding," between each other.

Spain's sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky also said the right infrastructure was in place in both countries and dismissed concerns about the state of the economy. He said that organizing such a prestigious tournament can have a good economic impact.

"It’s a very good opportunity for the country and anyway the economy will be very different in 2018," he told reporters, adding that Spain and Portugal will not need to invest more.

"We have all the venues prepared," he said. Spain will host the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid on May 22.

USA: World Cup would spur soccer's growth

US World Cup bid chief Sunil Gulati hailed 2010 as the year in which US Soccer launches the second part of its "fifty year" plan to make the country a great football nation.

"It’s a great honour to be back at FIFA House," Gulati told Blatter. "The first time I came here was 1984 and I’ve watched the organisation here grow and, more importantly for today, FIFA has watched US soccer grow.

"In that 25 years I think we’ve done some extraordinary things, assisted and aided by FIFA with the 1994 World Cup a big part of that success."

He added: "It’s been an extraordinary first half, but the way we look at it 2010 marks the start of the second part of that 50-year plan.

"Our team plays in a few weeks in the World Cup, and we think that hosting the World Cup again in 2018 or 2022 will be a phenomenal part of our success to launch the game to even bigger heights."

Blatter said that he knew that the USA was a safe pair of hands for hosting a major tournament.

"We know if something is wrong somewhere and we need an organizer, we know where to go," Blatter said – although quickly pointed out that he didn’t know if this would be the case with the World Cup "because you are not the only one bidding".

As when praising Qatar for hosting the World Youth Cup, Blatter took time out to thank the US federation for hosting two women’s World Cups. "These are very important to FIFA," he said.

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With reporting from James Corbett and Marta Falconi in Zurich