by Ryan D. Jaeger
Bookmakers William Hill have made the Gulf State of Qatar their favourite to host the 2022 World Cup.
An active campaign featuring top football stars such as France's Ziendine Zidane has led to more interest than ever for Qatar to host the event.
Other celebs to act as ambassador for Qatar's campaign include Pep Guardiola, Barcelona's coach.
His message in his ad recalls how, as an Algerian immigrant, he struggled to climb up in the world of sports.
He also noted the fact that holding the World Cup in the Middle East would inspire millions of Arab children.
Qatar has been desperately trying to woo FIFA inspectors who have already written an evaluation report.
FIFA noted, quite correctly, that temperatures could reach 50C in the summer months, making it impossible to play.
An independent report put out by the Qataris, however, claims that holding the World Cup in their country could tap into "massive potential" and grow the value of football in the region by $14 billion.
Bookies are also not being dissuaded.
Speaking about the campaign, a spokesman for William Hill said: "It's impressed up enough to make Qatar favourites. We quote them at 4-9 ahead of Australia at 3-1 and the United States at 7-2."
