Sheikh Ahmad Believes Middle East Could Stage Olympics

(ATR) ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad says Doha and Dubai can overcome concerns about staging the Olympics in the Middle East for the first time.

The Olympic Council of Asia president said in a Reuters interview that both cities can silence the doubters and deliver a successful Games.

"We are capable in many cities in the Middle East to host an Olympics. Dubai is ready. Doha is ready," he said.

"I know that not every city can host the Olympics. Only the main ones, and even they are always faced with difficulties. We can see this with Rio. Even until now, there are problems."

Qatar has courted much controversy since securing the 2022 FIFA World Cup following a wave of bribery allegations linked to the bidding process. The country’s human rights problem has also been brought into sharp relief by World Cup construction projects.

A FIFA task force is also examining moving the World Cup from the fierce desert heat of a Qatari summer to the winter months with a decision expected next spring.

The sheikh acknowledged that awarding the Olympics to Qatar or the United Arab Emirates would draw criticism.

"I think even if we host a birthday party, there would be such a reaction. That is the tradition of the media," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Incheon Asian Games, which open Friday.

"For that we have to respect their thoughts, but we have to trust ourselves that we can deliver a great event."

After failing to make the shortlist of bidders in the 2016 and 2020 bid races – both times due to the Gulf state’s summer heat issue – the Qatar Olympic Committee pledged to bid again for the 2024 event.

But the Gulf state’s Olympic ambitions have taken a knock following reports over the past year about human rights abuses linked to construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

Migrant workers’ conditions have come in for strong criticism from politicians, human rights groups, trade unions and FIFA. Qatar 2022 has developed a Workers’ Charter to address the issue, but the issue continues to generate negative headlines for the gas-rich nation.

Despite vowing to bid for the 2024 Games at the Aspire4Sport conference in Doha nearly a year ago, the Qatar Olympic Committee has been notably quiet about its Olympic aspirations through 2014.

Earlier this year, IOC president Thomas Bach visited Qatar but there were no discussion about a possible Olympic bid with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, or Qatar Olympic Committee officials.

Ahmad’s comments came as the emir admitted publicly that there were "errors and problems" in his nation’s handling of migrant labor rights laws.

Sheikh Tamim spoke out about the issue Wednesday during a visit to Germany following questions from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Qatar’s government has promised a revamp of the kafala system of tied employment, which restricts the movement of expat workers between employers, but the reforms have yet to be implemented.

Responding to a call by Merkel for Qatar to improve its labor laws, the emir admitted that changes were needed.

"We don’t say we are an ideal state that makes no mistakes," he told a joint press conference.

"But I think the good news is that we have tackled a lot and have initiated many changes in relation to the situation of foreign workers, and we are working seriously on improving this situation," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

The bidding race for the 2024 Olympics does not get underway until after the IOC vote on the 2022 Winter Olympic host in July 2015.

Berlin, Budapest, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Istanbul are among the cities who have indicated an interest in bidding. A bid from a U.S. city is also possible.

Reported by Mark Bisson

Homepage photo: Getty Images

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