The President of the Qatar Football Federation (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani (left) with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich in this file photo.
DOHA: Qatar Football Association (QFA) President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani will attend the 68th FIFA Congress to be held in Moscow.
The QFA President will be accompanied by Saud Al Mohannadi, the Vice President and a host of top officials, for the June 13 meeting which will take place at the Expocentre in the Russian capital.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino will head the Congress discussions. A number of key decisions are set to made at the annual gathering of FIFA officials.
The hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will also be decided on June 13. Currently there is a combined North American bid comprising of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Morocco is the other bid country aiming to win the rights to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
In a procedural step, the FIFA Council has to approve both candidates at a June 10 meeting in Moscow. The hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will then be decided by up to 207 football nations in a public vote on June 13.
Among other topics of discussion will include the joint proposal made by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) to carry out a feasibility study on the possible increase of the number of teams from 32 to 48 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
The member countries of CONMEBOL include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
In April, CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez presented a formal letter was presented to FIFA President Infantino seeking an increase in the number of teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The letter was signed by the region’s 10 member associations.
Dominguez, speaking at the confederation’s congress in Buenos Aires, said in April: “You all know that our qualifying system is the fairest, but it is also the most thankless.
“I have no doubt that if there is a confederation that has the capacity to properly rank all of its nations, that is CONMEBOL. As we want to do ourselves justice, I want to deliver a letter of application signed by 10 countries of CONMEBOL, so that the 2022 World Cup can be contested by 48 teams.”
CONMEBOL is backing a joint bid by Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to host the 2030 tournament.
Qatar, who will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, are getting ready to stage football’s showpiece event for 32 teams.
A strong Qatari presence will also be seen during the Congress and the 2018 FIFA World Cup that kicks off on June 14.
Hani Ballan, a member of the Executive Committee of the QFA and Chairman of the QFA Referees Committee, Naji Al-Juwaini, executive director of the QFA Referees Department, international referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim and Assistant International referee Talib Al Marri will also be in Russia to carry out various World Cup-related roles.
