Qatar 2022 WC organisers defend bidding process against 'baseless' allegations

Qatar 2022 World Cup organisers have reportedly defended their bidding process against what they have claimed are 'baseless' allegations.

Qatar 2022 said in a statement that reports of impropriety around the voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments are a flagrant attempt to prejudice an ongoing independent investigation, as a FIFA ethics committee headed by lawyer Michael Garcia is looking into the bidding process.

According to the BBC, the remit from Garcia, whose recommendations on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup are due next month, includes looking into allegations that Qatari football official Mohamed Bin Hammam made payments amounting to 3 million pounds to football officials in return for their support for the Qatar bid, as is revealed by in a Sunday Times investigation.

The Qatar2022 statement also said that the bid team had nothing to 'hide' and that it had co-operated in a completely open and transparent manner.

The statement also revealed that knowing that Qatar were not a key player in the football world, they knew that they had to work harder than anyone else for their bid to succeed, adding that they knocked on more doors, made more phone calls and took more meetings than their competitors.

However, the statement also said that in every aspect of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process, Qatar strictly adhered to the governing body's rules and regulations.