amabassadeur ronald de boer

Johannesburg, South Africa, December 3, 2009 - The Qatar 2022 World Cup bid committee has named two former World Cup stars, Argentina’s Gabriel Omar Batistuta and Holland’s Ronald de Boer, as new bid ambassadors.
Batistuta is the all-time leading goal-scorer for Argentina and represented his country at three World Cup finals, while de Boer played in two World Cup finals for the Netherlands and won the UEFA Champions League in a sparkling club career. Both players also played for clubs in Qatar.
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Commenting on his appointment, Batistuta said: “It is a great pleasure for me to take on this important role as bid ambassador for the Qatar 2022 Bid, which I believe represents an essential expansion of the FIFA ideals to a new part of the world. (....)

Equally enthusiastic, De Boer said: “It is a great honour for me to be appointed as a member of such an exciting and innovative bid. I truly believe it is time for the World Cup to come to the Middle East for the first time ever, so I am thrilled to be asked to become an ambassador for this campaign. I believe this is a historic opportunity for the country where I played four years of my professional career and the rest of the world to unite in a peaceful and family-orientated celebration of football, and this is the message I will be bringing in my new role over the coming 12 months.”
He added: “Judging from my experience playing at World Cup finals and other top events – and from my experience living in Qatar for more than five years – I believe Qatar has all the qualities to host a fantastic and unforgettable World Cup. The country has the outstanding sporting facilities needed to host the world’s greatest football tournament, the region-wide passion for the game, and it brings to the mix an exceptionally hospitable nature which has made me decide to stay on in Qatar even after my playing career finished.”
The Qatar 2022 Bid CEO Hassan Abdulla Al Thawadi, who announced the appointments at a press conference at the high-level Soccerex gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa, expressed his delight over the two football legends joining the campaign, saying: “Gabriel was named in the FIFA list of 125 Greatest Living Footballers, and every football fan around the world connects his name with exciting and spectacular goals and classic World Cup matches. Ronald was also a footballer of the very highest calibre – he won the UEFA Champions League as an Ajax player, played for illustrious European clubs like FC Barcelona and Rangers, and reached the World Cup and European Championship semi-finals with Holland, so he too brings a huge wealth of football experience and knowledge to our bid.”
“Our Bid is gaining support and passion from all around the world. Both Gabriel and Ronald have shown that they are great sportsmen and wonderful role models for youngsters from South America to Europe and on to the Middle East. They have also inspired fans here in Qatar when they each played for some of our best Qatari football club sides a few years ago – Gabriel with Al Arabi club and Ronald with Al Rayyan and Al Shamal. Their local experience and knowledge of Qatar and our passion for football is one of the reasons we think they will be great ambassadors for us. We believe they will both provide our World Cup Bid with the exciting and inspirational touch that they showed on football pitches throughout their careers,” Al Thawadi added.
“After the appointment of Sami Al Jaber as a bid ambassador last week, who embodies the regional flavour and all-inclusive spirit of our Qatar 2022 bid, Gabriel and Ronald represent the cosmopolitan nature of our society and the multi-cultural backing for our World Cup bid. We want to unite people and bring about positive change throughout the region and the world in 2022, through the power of football.”