Why World Cup host Qatar hired ex-CIA officials to spy on FIFA?
Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 men’s FIFA World Cup in 2010 when Sepp Blatter was President of football’s governing body and since then many allegations were made on Qatar not only on the human rights issues but also about the bidding process involved.
An Associated Press investigation report stated that a former CIA official has spied on top football officials for years while working for Qatar in order to get relevant data required to win the bidding to host next year’s World Cup tournament.
Apparently, Qatar executed the spying operation to seek an edge over countries like Australia and US that were also bidding for the hosting rights by hiring Ex-CIA private contractor Kevin Chalker.
Chalker also worked for Qatar in the years that followed to keep records on Qatar’s critics in the soccer world, according to interviews with Chalker’s former associates as well as contracts, invoices, emails, and a review of business documents.
Chalker’s company, Global Risk Advisors described the project in a 2014 document, saying, “The Merseyles project’s greatest achievement to date has come from successful penetration operations targeting vocal critics within the FIFA organization.” nine years. It is unclear how much the Qataris ultimately paid the company.
The documents also highlighted the company’s efforts to win over Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, a key figure in the soccer world and who ran unsuccessfully to be FIFA’s president in 2015 and 2016.
In a 2013 document, Global Risk Advisors recommended the Qataris give money to a soccer development organisation run by Ali, saying it would “help solidify Qatar’s reputation as a benevolent presence in world football.”
Chalkar who opens an office in Doha and has an email account for the Qatari government, said in a statement provided by a representative that he and his companies “will never engage in such an illegal surveillance.”
Chalker’s former officials say their companies have provided a variety of services to Qatar in addition to intelligence work. Global Risk Advisors address itself “an international strategic consultancy specializing in cybersecurity, military and law enforcement training, and intelligence-based advisory services”.
In 2010, Qatar won its bid to host a World Cup in 2022, has seen criticism in the past few years over human rights violations for the treatment of construction workers who built the eight stadiums the teams will compete in.
FIFA has previously faced criminal investigations into the bidding process and allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar.
The Department of Justice announced for the first time last year that representatives working for Russia and Qatar had bribed FIFA officials to secure hosting rights for the men’s soccer World Cup 2022.
However, GRA and Qatar Government had refused to comment over the allegations made by the Associate Press.
