DOHA: 26 August 2010 - Qatar National Bank (QNB) has been named the Official Bank of the Qatar 2022 bid to host the FIFA World Cup. The Qatar 2022 Bid Committee made the announcement during a contract signing ceremony held on Thursday 26 August 2010, at the Qatar Olympic Committee Building.
QNB, the leading national bank in Qatar, will be working with the Bid Committee to promote Qatar’s chances of bringing the FIFA World Cup to the Middle East for the first time in 2022.
A number of officials from the Bid Committee and QNB attended the signing ceremony with the contract being signed by Hassan Al Thawadi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar 2022 and Ali Shareef Al Emadi, QNB Group Chief Executive Officer.
Qatar 2022 CEO Hassan Al Thawadi said, “We are delighted to have received the backing of Qatar National Bank for our bid to bring the World Cup to Qatar in 2022. We believe that the support of Qatar’s leading financial institution will be a vital contribution to the success of our bid. The partnership between Qatar 2022 and QNB demonstrates the strength and unity of local support.”
QNB Group CEO Ali Shareef Al Emadi added, “Through QNB’s support of this landmark bid we hope that together as a nation we will be able to move forward to ensure a continuing legacy of sport and prosperity for our people. This is QNB’s ambition and one that aligns perfectly with the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee’s objectives. We are confident that by working alongside the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee and supporting its objectives, we will be able to make our nation proud.”
QNB pursues an active community engagement policy, and sponsorship of sport in Qatar is an integral aspect of the Bank’s corporate social responsibility charter. QNB currently sponsors Qatar Sports Club, one of the most prominent sports clubs in the country, as well as lending support to numerous other high-profile international sporting teams and events that help promote the State of Qatar and its advanced sporting infrastructure.
Qatar 2022 and QNB share the same values when it comes to community engagement policy – targeting growth and development not just in football infrastructure, but also overall growth of the economy, traversing tourism and nurturing local knowledge and skills that will become major elements in the shaping of Qatar’s history.
The Bid is also developing environmentally friendly cooling technologies utilising solar power, which will ensure that matches are played in a comfortable and temperature-controlled environment throughout the World Cup. The development of these technologies will continue to serve Qatar, in addition to many other countries in the developing world where energy sustainability is a major governmental priority for the upcoming decades. This also aligns with Qatar Vision 2030, set forth by the Emir, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, which foresees the creation of a sustainable, hydrocarbon-independent economy by the year 2030. The technologies that are being developed to support the bid for Qatar 2022 will accelerate the pace of research and development in the country to help meet these objectives.
Qatar 2022 will be a milestone on Qatar’s developmental path to the benefit of the nation, the region and the world.