Qatar is celebrating on Thursday after being chosen to host the 2022 World Cup finals.
Middle East country awarded 2022 finals
Qatar is celebrating on Thursday after being chosen to host the 2022 World Cup finals.
The Middle East country was awarded the tournament by Fifa's executive committee, beating off competition from the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
Qatar presented the most technically ambitious plans for a World Cup, using its 30-minute presentation to underline how the tournament could unify a region ravaged by conflict.
Their success in Thursday's vote comes just over a month before they are scheduled to host the Asian Cup finals.
Qatar have, as yet, never appeared in a finals, but have come close on a couple of occasions to reaching the tournament through qualifying.
New lands
Fifa president Sepp Blatter commented: "We go to new lands. Never has the World Cup been in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Arabic world have been waiting for a long time so I'm a happy president when we talk about the development of football."
Qatar bid chief Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani told the Fifa executive: "Thank you for backing us and expanding the game. You will be proud of us and you will be proud of the Middle East."
Qatar's staging of the tournament had come in for some criticism because of the weather in the country during June and July - when temperatures can rise as high as 50 degrees Celsius.
The announcement came shortly after Russia beat stiff competition from a host of nations, including England, to host the finals in 2018.
