Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, and QFA’s candidate for an AFC seat on the FIFA Executive Committee, gives a presentation during a press conference at Four Seasons Hotel in Doha yesterday. PICTURES: SHAIVAL DALAL
BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Chief architect of Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid has urged Asian football decision-makers and stakeholders to invest in young leadership that could take the game forward in the world’s most populous continent.
Hassan Al Thawadi, 34, has made the rallying call just days before he goes head-to-head against Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifah, 43, for a post on the FIFA Executive Committee. The AFC’s Extraordinary Congress will vote on May 2, 2013, to decide who wins coveted FIFA seat.
“Yes, the world of football has evolved and moved forward. It is time we evolved too and had young leadership from Asia,” Al Thawadi said when asked if AFC — the game’s ruling body in Asia — would be ready to vote for the Qatari in the May 2 elections. “We have to move with the (changing) world. That goes without saying. It is vital that Asia changed also,” he said during a conference called to reveal his plans for the Asian continent.
Al Thawadi, the force behind Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid, remained confident about his chances of getting the AFC nod.
“I was fortunate to be part of Qatar’s (2002) World Cup bid. It was important to get a taste of that background where you build contacts and talk to the stakeholders in the world of football,” Al Thawadi said.
“I was in a privileged position where I learned to bring people together and move forward in one direction,” Al Thawadi said of his role as CEO of the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee.
“I often met with decision-makers in European football and the rest of the world,” Al Thawadi, a graduate from the Sheffield University, United Kingdom, said.
“I am confident of my ability to deliver on my promises,” Al Thawadi, recently nominated by Arabian Business magazine as one of the ‘500 most influential Arabs’ in the world, said.
“I have friends in AFC and in FIFA. Together we can build a robust football industry in the region,” he added.
Al Thawadi, who speaks English, French, Spanish and Arabic fluently, promised to accord judicious audiences to those keen to take the game to all corners of Asia.
“I can listen to people’s concerns,” he said. “This is a sensitive time in Asian football,” he added without elaborating.
“We need to work together. While we can be transparent in our progress, but we must listen to everybody,” he said.
“We have to develop football in Asia on professional lines,” Al Thawadi, who later took questions in Spanish and French, said before digging into statistics to make his point, said.
“Asia has all the ingredients to become leaders in world football. We know 60 percent of the world’s population lives in Asia. Fifty percent of FIFA’s business partners are from Asia.
“Most of the European giants (clubs) make Asia their destination (for pre-season training),” Al Thawadi said.
“In 2007, millions of fans watched the Asian Cup (the region’s premier national team event),” he added. “That was a huge increase in the number of fans in a very short period of time,” the Qatari said.
“Seventeen percent of members on various FIFA committees are from Asia. So you see Asia has all that it needs to become a leader in football,” he said. To get the game moving forward, Al Thawadi said his areas of interest centred around commercial, social, technical and administrative matters that would ‘provide stability in the Asian ranks’.
Al Thawadi said: “These (aforementioned) four pillars are my key areas. I am all for maximising commercial and administrative efficiency. We also need to be optimising development projects besides taking educational initiatives — for players and officials — in Asia.”
The Qatari said: “(If elected) I will work with FIFA to create and sustain relevant programmes that will aim to nurture a new generation of stars. Together we will push Asia to the front ranks of world football.”
When asked about his visits to countries in the region, Al Thawadi said his vision was well received by the football family in the Arab world.
“My vision was well received. There were so many positives gained from my meetings,” he said. “Those meetings gave me the confidence that I can win through the ballot (on May 2). My faith is team work. My strong point is that I can bring people together,” Al Thawadi said. “I can help all those people associated with the game to look to the future,” he said.
“I can put a road-map to develop football. I honed my skills in these areas. My job is bringing the stakeholders together,” Al Thawadi said.
The peninsula
