Saud Al Monannadi, secretary-general of the Qatar Football Association, told Reuters Sunday that despite speculation Qatar was considering withdrawing as host of the 2011 Asian Cup, “we are ahead of schedule, we are ready, we have the stadiums, the budget –we could host the Asian Cup next month”.
Al Monannadi said Qatar wants to host the 2011 Asian Cup to strengthen its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The Australian-based Sun Herald newspaper reported Sunday that Qatar, the sole bidder for the 2011 Asian cup, was having second thoughts about hosting the tournament, and had called an urgent meeting with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to discuss the issue.
But Al Monnanadi said Tuesday’s meeting with the AFC was a scheduled get-together to discuss their preparations.
He added, “we are not withdrawing, we are the ones who wanted to get things moving early”.
