World Cup host Qatar used ex-CIA officer to spy on FIFA
Source: AP
By ALAN SUDERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The tiny Arab nation of Qatar has for years employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of a no-expense-spared effort to win and hold on to the 2022 World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.
It’s part of a trend of former U.S. intelligence officers going to work for foreign governments with questionable human rights records that is worrying officials in Washington and prompting calls from some members of Congress for greater scrutiny of an opaque and lucrative market.
The World Cup is the planet’s most popular sports tournament. It’s also a chance for Qatar, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, to have a coming-out party on the world stage.
The AP’s investigation found Qatar sought an edge in securing hosting rights by hiring former CIA officer turned private contractor Kevin Chalker to spy on rival bid teams and key soccer officials who picked the winner in 2010. Chalker also worked for Qatar in the years that followed to keep tabs on the country’s critics in the soccer world, the AP found.
FILE - Mohamed bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, Chairman of the 2022 bid committee, and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, hold the World Cup trophy in front of FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke after the announcement that Qatar will host the 2022 soccer World Cup, on Dec. 2, 2010, in Zurich, Switzerland. Qatar has for years employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of an aggressive effort to win and hold on to the 2022 World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sports-business-migration-middle-east-d9716b62fc69ab88beb3553d402da7d1
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