DOHA:Qatar Football Association presidentSheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thanisaid that various Asian sports figures have reiterated their support for the State of Qatar, and its right and ability to organise the football world cup in 2022. Speaking after his meeting with a number of heads of delegations participating in the ongoing Doha GOALS Forum, he stressed that these senior sports officials said that the right to organise the tournament was not only important for Qatar, but also for all the countries, and people of the Arab region and the Asian continent. They also expressed their support for a Qatari candidate to assume one of the leading positions in AFC, such as a member of an executive office of FIFA for Asia, or vice president of the AFC for West Asia. The QFA president said that the Asian footballing figures underscored the right of the State of Qatar to leadership positions in view of Qatar’s possession of competencies capable of making a positive role in favour of both international and continental sports. He met FIFA vice president and Jordan Football Association chairman Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein, Tunisian Minister of Youth and Sports Saber Buati, Palestinian Football Federation boss Jibril Rajoub and Japan Football Association vice president Tashima Kohzo. Sheikh Hamad also met presidents of various football federations, including Saudi Arabia’s Dr Ahmed Eid, Lebanon’s Hashim Haider, Iraq’s Abdul-Khaliq Masood, Sri Lanka’s Ranjith Rodrigo, Kyrgyz Republic’s Semetei Sultanov, Senegal’s Augustin Senghor and Thailand’s Makud. These officials are currently in the Qatari capital to attend the Doha GOALS Forum. The meetings were an opportunity for consultation on many important issues, and led to agreements on many of the key sporting matters that fulfil public interest in various forums. They were also an opportunity for the guests to pay tribute to the great role played by Qatar in supporting sporting issues. Gulf Times