Qatar will start a women's football league this year as part of an effort to build support for its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, AP quoted officials as saying today. The Qatar Football Association will oversee the league, which will include an undisclosed number of teams and start by the end of 2010. The association also plans to introduce women's football in schools and build new facilities for the country's national team. A league is a requirement for the Qatar women's team to participate in Asian Football Confederation tournaments. «There is already huge interest in football among Qatari women and the decision to create a women's football league is a significant step forward that will help underpin many of our plans,» Ahlam Al Mana, president of the Qatar Women's Sports Committee, said. «The more girls and women we can encourage to play football, the greater the long-term benefits for Qatari society as a whole, be it in terms of health, youth development, or promotion of equality and inclusion.» The announcement is aimed at building momentum ahead of the country's formal World Cup bid, which is due this week. There are nine bidders for the 2022 tournament. Six of those _ including England and the United States _ are also bidding for the 2018 event, while Qatar is only vying for 2022. Qatar bolstered its bid last month by unveiling a $4 billion plan to build nine stadiums and renovate three others _ all with a high-tech cooling system which will aim to keep temperatures on the pitch at 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius.) The plans also include a new metro system that will link the stadiums.
