MENA

Doha has learned from its previous bid for the 2016 Olympics and is in a “much stronger position” to secure the hosting rights for the 2020 Games, according to leading Qatari officials.

The European Tour has ended speculation over the future of its season-ending Race to Dubai by reaching a new multi-faceted, three-year deal with the event’s organisers.

German Football Association (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger has renewed his attack on the award of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar by claiming the hosting criteria had been “perverted”.

UEFA president Michel Platini has stated he would be prepared to alter the European club schedule in a bid to accommodate a winter FIFA World Cup in 2022.

FIFA has pledged to help improve the rights of migrant workers building stadia for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup in the wake of threats from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to disrupt construction plans.

Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee general secretary Hassan al-Thawadi has stated organisers remain open to staging a winter World Cup, but added that efforts are focused on the 2022 tournament taking place in its traditional summer slot.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce the winning bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championships later today, with the race between Doha and London considered by many to be too close to call.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the owner of beer brand Budweiser, has become the first member of FIFA’s portfolio of World Cup sponsors to commit to supporting the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Manly Sea Eagles, the newly-crowned Australian National Rugby League (NRL) champion, has suggested Dubai as a venue for rugby league’s World Club Challenge in 2012.

Kuwait has become the latest Middle Eastern country to unveil plans for a state-of-the-art new sporting arena.

Doha has stepped up its bid for the 2020 Olympic Games by appointing Vero Communications and Andrew Craig as lead advisors to the city’s efforts.

Manchester United has agreed a two-year partnership with Du, claiming the deal will further the club’s connection with its 56 million fans in the Middle East.

Christian Horner, the influential team principal at Formula One team Red Bull, has voiced concerns about the “rather worrying” situation in Bahrain just six months before the championship is scheduled to visit the Gulf kingdom.

The Qatar Association of Athletics Federation is prepared to pay an estimated cost of between US$300-400 million to renovate the Khalifa International Stadium in an attempt to bring the 2017 edition of the IAAF World Athletics Championships to Doha.

Qatar could offer a “new frontier” in world sport if the 2017 World Athletics Championships is awarded to Doha, according to Qatar bid committee president Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Hassan Al-Thawadi, the former CEO of Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will address delegates at the annual Leaders in Football conference on October 5-6.