Argentine and Dutch World Cup stars to be Qatar Bid ambassadors
The Qatar 2022 World Cup bid committee has named two former World Cup stars, Argentina’s Gabriel Omar Batistuta and Holland’s Ronald de Boer, as new bid ambassadors.
Batistuta is the all-time leading goal-scorer for Argentina and represented his country at three World Cup finals, while de Boer played in two World Cup finals for the Netherlands and won the UEFA Champions League in a sparkling club career. Both players also played for clubs in Qatar.
Commenting on his appointment, Batistuta said: “It is a great pleasure for me to take on this important role as bid ambassador for the Qatar 2022 Bid, which I believe represents an essential expansion of the FIFA ideals to a new part of the world. Having played in USA in 1994, in France in 1998, as well as the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan – the first on the Asian continent – I have witnessed the excitement and passion unleashed in those different parts of the world. From my playing experience in Qatar I know that it is a country and a region which will host a spectacular and passionate World Cup in 2022. It is this message which I want to bring to the world in this exciting new role: here is an exciting new football market waiting to be uncovered.”
Equally enthusiastic, De Boer said: “It is a great honour for me to be appointed as a member of such an exciting and innovative bid. I truly believe it is time for the World Cup to come to the Middle East for the first time ever, so I am thrilled to be asked to become an ambassador for this campaign. I believe this is a historic opportunity for the country where I played four years of my professional career and the rest of the world to unite in a peaceful and family-orientated celebration of football, and this is the message I will be bringing in my new role over the coming 12 months.”
He added: “Judging from my experience playing at World Cup finals and other top events – and from my experience living in Qatar for more than five years – I believe Qatar has all the qualities to host a fantastic and unforgettable World Cup. The country has the outstanding sporting facilities needed to host the world’s greatest football tournament, the region-wide passion for the game, and it brings to the mix an exceptionally hospitable nature which has made me decide to stay on in Qatar even after my playing career finished.”
The Qatar 2022 Bid CEO Hassan Abdulla Al Thawadi, who announced the appointments at a press conference at the high-level Soccerex gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa, expressed his delight over the two football legends joining the campaign, saying: “Gabriel was named in the FIFA list of 125 Greatest Living Footballers, and every football fan around the world connects his name with exciting and spectacular goals and classic World Cup matches. Ronald was also a footballer of the very highest calibre – he won the UEFA Champions League as an Ajax player, played for illustrious European clubs like FC Barcelona and Rangers, and reached the World Cup and European Championship semi-finals with Holland, so he too brings a huge wealth of football experience and knowledge to our bid.”
“Our Bid is gaining support and passion from all around the world. Both Gabriel and Ronald have shown that they are great sportsmen and wonderful role models for youngsters from South America to Europe and on to the Middle East. They have also inspired fans here in Qatar when they each played for some of our best Qatari football club sides a few years ago – Gabriel with Al Arabi club and Ronald with Al Rayyan and Al Shamal. Their local experience and knowledge of Qatar and our passion for football is one of the reasons we think they will be great ambassadors for us. We believe they will both provide our World Cup Bid with the exciting and inspirational touch that they showed on football pitches throughout their careers,” Al Thawadi added.
“After the appointment of Sami Al Jaber as a bid ambassador last week, who embodies the regional flavour and all-inclusive spirit of our Qatar 2022 bid, Gabriel and Ronald represent the cosmopolitan nature of our society and the multi-cultural backing for our World Cup bid. We want to unite people and bring about positive change throughout the region and the world in 2022, through the power of football.”
About the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup™ Bid:
Qatar is bidding to host the FIFA World Cup™ in 2022. A World Cup in Qatar would be the first global sporting event ever to be hosted in the Middle East. Playing football’s most prestigious tournament in this region would bring greater unity and understanding between peoples from every continent, perfectly reflecting the FIFA slogan “For the Game; for the World”.
About Gabriel Omar Batistuta
Batistuta began his career playing for Argentina’s two traditional clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. He then moved to Europe and spent a spectacular club career of more than 10 years in Italy, moving to Fiorentina after helping Argentina win the 1991 Copa America and ending the tournament as the top scorer. The Argentine quickly became a fan favourite at Fiorentina before moving to AS Roma, where he finally won the Italian Serie A title in 2001. He also played at Inter Milan before moving to Qatar’s Al Arabi club and breaking the all-time Qatari scoring record with a haul of 25 goals.
At international level he is the all-time leading goal-scorer for Argentina with 56 goals in 78 appearances. These include a hat-trick against Greece at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, as well as another famous three-goal performance in a victory against Jamaica at the 1998 World Cup, becoming the first player to score hat-tricks in consecutive World Cup finals. He retired in 2005 and has since completed his football coaching degree.
About Ronald de Boer
De Boer won the UEFA Champions League with home team Ajax Amsterdam in 1994-5 before starring for his country in an inspired 1998 World Cup semi-final run which ended in a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out loss to Brazil. He played for his country at two World Cup finals and made 67 appearances in the Orange shirt of Holland, scoring 13 goals in the process.
De Boer spent four years from 2004 to 2008 playing in Qatar with Al Rayyan and Al Shamal clubs, and has since become a prominent member of the country’s sporting community, offering his support and input in key youth development projects such as Aspire Academy and the Football Dreams project. He is currently living in Doha.
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