Qatar deploys ex-spies to blunt German's World Cup criticism

Source: Associated Press

Qatar deploys ex-spies to blunt German’s World Cup criticism

By ALAN SUDERMAN and CIARÁN FAHEY
February 27, 2022

DIEZ, Germany (AP) — As head of the German soccer federation, Theo Zwanziger was among his sport’s most prominent critics of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. He publicly attacked the energy-rich Gulf nation’s human rights record. He questioned the wisdom of staging the world’s most popular sporting event in searing desert heat.

“The infinite wealth of this small country of Qatar spreads almost like a cancer through football and sport,” Zwanziger once said. A member of FIFA’s executive committee, he urged world soccer’s governing body to reverse its 2010 decision.

The Qatari government was so concerned by Zwanziger’s criticism that it took action. It paid more than $10 million to a company staffed by former CIA operatives for a multi-year covert influence operation codenamed “Project Riverbed,” according to internal company documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

The records indicate that the goal of the operation was to use spycraft to silence Zwanziger. It failed.

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Documents reviewed by AP provide new details about Qatar’s efforts to win and hold onto the tournament, specifically the country’s work with former CIA officer Kevin Chalker and company, Global Risk Advisors. The documents build on AP’s previous reporting about Chalker’s work for Qatar.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sports-germany-international-soccer-world-cup-b5d21e04200ca43dff0325ee8f8ec37a

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Related: World Cup host Qatar used ex-CIA officer to spy on FIFA (Associated Press)


FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2008, CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer, left, and President Jack Warner chat during a news conference in Miami. Just ahead of the 2010 World Cup soccer bid, Diligence, a well-known private investigative firm in London founded by former western intelligence officers, was tasked to obtain communications and financial records of FIFA officials Warner and Blazer, a review of records obtained by The Associated Press show. Blazer, a former top U.S. soccer official who pleaded guilty to FIFA-related corruption charges and worked as an informant for the FBI, died in 2017. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)