Qatar is planning a bid to host the 2018 World Cup, according to a report in The Observer on Sunday. Doha had hoped to enter the bidding for the 2016 Olympics but the International Olympic Commitee (IOC) snubbed the gas - and oil-rich state at a meeting in Athens last week.
The report said the snub has simply re-focused Doha's attention on bidding to host a major international sporting event. England are among the countries already in line to launch a bid for the 2018 World Cup. According to The Observer an unnamed source close the Emir of Qatar suggested Qatar could launch a bid for football's flagship tournament in the near future.
"They are deadly serious about bringing a major event to Qatar and after the Olympics, the World Cup was always next on their list," said an insider who is close to the Emir.
The report added however that the Emir would want assurances that Qatar would not be 'humiliated' in the way he believes it was by the IOC, which refused to include Doha on the short-list for 2016 despite its own evaluation commission ranking the bid equal third on technical merit with Chicago - the favourites to host the 2016 Olympics - and ahead of Rio de Janeiro, which was put through to the next stage.
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