Sheffield United: Qatar World Cup chief "follows" Sheffield United's results

Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, completed a law degree at The University of Sheffield after taking his A-Levels in Scunthorpe. The unusual choice of venues, given that his father was a former Qatari ambassador to Spain, seemingly fostered Al Thawadi’s love of football and he paid a visit to the region during his country’s successful and hugely controversial bid to host the tournament which began earlier this month.

“The Ugly Game”, a book produced by the Sunday Times’ award winning Insight Team which documented its ‘FIFA Files’ expose, describes Al Thawadi as someone who “still regularly checked the scores of Scunthorpe and Sheffield United”, despite adopting Liverpool as his team.

Five years ago, Al Thawadi visited Sheffield to help foster popular support for Qatar after it had beaten off competition from Australia, Japan and South Korea and the USA. His ports of call included Olive Grove, the original home of Sheffield FC who are recognised as being the oldest club on the planet.

“From this field here in Sheffield 160 years ago to the first Middle Eastern FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he was reported as saying at the time, “Football is a truly global game. My hope is that when the new ground and museum at Olive Grove is developed and school children visit, they will be able to comprehend just how far the game has travelled.”

Speaking of his pride at being named an honorary board member of Sheffield FC two years earlier, Al Thawadi added: “I have been so impressed by the vision of the chairman and staff at the club to develop such an exciting project, to create a new home of football, a centre for grassroots, a place for children across the world to come and learn about where the rules of the game were born and to play on this historically important (moment).”

Despite Al Thawadi’s backing, Sheffield FC are still playing at the Coach and Horses ground in Dronfield although plans to build a new stadium, near Meadowhead rather than Olive Grove, have since been published in both the trade press and The Star. Sheffield has also struggled to translate its status as the birthplace of modern football into clout on the global stage; much to the frustration of local supporters, many local politicians and business leaders alike.

Al Thawadi, who first rose to prominence as a lawyer for Qatar Petroleum before being appointed as a senior counsel for the state’s sovereign wealth fund, also collected his university degree during the trip to Sheffield after newspapers in his homeland stated he had been unable to receive it after graduating.

Despite spending long periods in London, Al Thawadi, who also said he had watched Sheffield Wednesday compete, said at the time: “I have a close affinity with Scunthorpe and Sheffield and I look back at that time with a soft spot in my heart and keep an eye on their results.”

Qatari Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, purchased Paris Saint Germain over a decade ago; transforming the French team’s fortunes and signing a host of stellar names including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi. The organisation’s portfolio also includes kitwear manufacturer Burrda, a marketing and client representation company and a significant shareholding in Portuguese outfit Braga. Board members include representatives from the Qatari banking sector and senior figures at BeIN media group which, like Burrda, has its headquarters in Doha.

Two members of United’s first team squad - Iliman Ndiaye of Senegal and Wales’ Adam Davies - have travelled to Qatar for the competition, which is scheduled to finish on December 18th. The Championship fixture programme resumes eight days earlier, with United, second in the table, set to host Huddersfield Town at Bramall Lane. Ndiaye, an unused substitute during Senegal’s defeat by the Netherlands, will hope to feature when Aliou Cisse’s side contest their second group game - against Qatar - on Friday. Wales, who clash with England next week, face Iran on the same day.

Al Thawadi, who also sits on FIFA’s World Cup Organising Committee, has held a number of senior positions within sport and other spheres since leaving Sheffield. He is understood to be a director of Qatar’s National Tourism Council, a hospitality group and a property enterprise as well as serving as an advisor to three universities. As well as Arabic and English, Al Thawadi also speaks French and Spanish. He became a regular face on British television screens before the latest World Cup began, as Qatar came under the spotlight for its treatment of migrant workers and attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community. Al Thawadi boasts a profile on the social media platform Twitter but does not appear to have posted since 2020, when he published a tribute to the late Diego Maradona.

“Sheffield has David Blunkett, Sir David Richards, different people who have come out of the area, it has more of a claim to fame than Scunthorpe with Sheffield United and the Wednesday,” Al Thawadi is credited with saying during another trip to the region when Qatar was campaigning to become the 2022 World Cup hosts. “But what football does is stimulate interest. It gets people together, starts a new industry, a new support. Football has unbelievable invigorating power.”