Las Qatari strategies In order to host the World Cup that starts on November 23, they crossed the limit of the espionageas revealed by a documentary by Swiss public television SRF, one of those dedicated to the country’s German-speaking population.
According to the aforementioned report, the Qatari government, with the emir himself Tamin bin Hamad al Thani in front, they orchestrated an espionage operation for 9 years to guarantee the organization of the aforementioned World Cup. For this they hired former CIA agents who were monitoring various FIFA managers with the aim of coFind information and, if necessary, use it to pressure them.
In the operations they also worked to try to limit criticism of the regime’s excesses, such as abuses against workers and lack of respect for human rights in general, and undertake counter-information strategies in this regard. In addition, they also spied on the rival bids (the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan) to adapt their negotiating strategies.
A known case… and silenced
Qatar hired the American security company Global Risk Advisors, led by a former CIA spy and made up of former secret service agents and collaborators. According to the report, the company formed a network of 66 spies around the world in which the Qataris invested 387 million of dollars.
In addition to keeping the aforementioned managers under surveillance, they dedicated themselves to tapping calls, intercepting messages and even hack phones to obtain sensitive information, such as documents, photographs or a list of contacts.
It is not a new case. The Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office has already investigated Qatar’s suspicions of espionage towards FIFA, but the case was closed in 2020 due to lack of evidence. This fact is also denounced in the report, which indicates that this type of doubt should be enough to broaden and deepen the investigation.
