Qatar

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has lashed out at the allegations of corruption surrounding the award of the 2022 Fifa World Cup to Qatar by claiming they are evidence of “racist actions” towards the country and Arabs in general.

The spotlight on the controversial award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has intensified after former Fifa Executive Committee member Mohamed bin Hammam was accused of making payments totalling $5m (€3.6m) to senior football officials in exchange for support for the bid.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has admitted the decision of world football’s governing body to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was “a mistake”, adding it was now “probable” that the tournament would be played in the winter months.

The International Aquatics Federation (Fina) has appointed marketing agency RedTorch to deliver the digital marketing and sales operations at its 2014 World Aquatics Convention.

Football’s global governing body Fifa has welcomed the introduction of labour law reforms by Qatar’s government and has announced it will suspend a planned trip to the host of its 2022 World Cup national team tournament in order to fully evaluate the new measures.

The Qatari capital of Doha has secured the hosting rights for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in 2018.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has suggested world football’s governing body will conclude its investigation into the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar before this year’s tournament gets underway in Brazil in June.

Qatar 2022 has elected to reduce its stadium development commitment for the Fifa World Cup from 12 to eight, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

Fifa Executive Committee member Michel D’Hooghe insists there will be no reopening of the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup, suggesting that concern within the UK media over how Qatar won the right to host the event is viewed as a case of “sour grapes” by world football’s governing body.

Japan Football Association president Kuniya Daini has said that the country could host the 2022 Fifa World Cup, if the tournament is moved from Qatar.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup organising committee has insisted that its successful bid to host the international football showpiece did not contravene regulations set out by Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, after new allegations emerged in a UK newspaper.

An announcement regarding the staging of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar will not be made before the start of next year, according to Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.

The Josoor Institute, an initiative driven by the organisers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, looks set to be build a strong skills base for the sports industry in Qatar and the Middle East. Kevin Roberts reports.

Theo Zwanziger an executive committee member of Fifa, has conceded that there is little football’s world governing body can do about the conditions of migrant workers who are helping Qatar to prepare for the 2022 World Cup.

A charter detailing the rights of migrant workers involved in construction projects for Fifa World Cup stadia in Qatar has been labelled as a “sham” by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Fifa, world football's governing body, has announced that Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of the 2022 World Cup must provide a detailed report on the improvement of working conditions in the country by February 12.