By Evline Meshreky
The direct effect for Qatar of losing the 2022 World Cup hosting rights would be small, concluded a report issued by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Monday.
Broader infrastructure projects, however, would likely lose execution focus and face potential delays, the report stated.
FIFA’s ethics committee is investigating the awarding of the world cups in 2018 to Russia and in 2022 to Qatar after allegations of bribery and corruption. The committee is to issue a report to the adjudicatory chamber mid-July.
Nasser Al Khater, Qatar 2022 communications director, told Qatari news channel Al Jazeera Tuesday that they are confident the World Cup will take place in Qatar.
Qatar’s direct World Cup spending is estimated at $16bn, or 7.5% of GDP, according to the report. The ancillary infrastructure spending, however, is much larger. The five-year projected government capital expenditure is $100bn.
The report expects that if Qatar loses its hosting right of the World Cup, the infrastructure spending will lose execution focus and face potential delays.
The nominal effect of the World Cup cancellation is credit positive, as capital spending would be lower and more efficient, according to the bank.
