Qatar 2022 World Cup bid hit by fresh claim of corruption

A British newspaper is alleging that a former top Qatari football official paid more than five million dollars to get support for the emirate's campaign to host the 2022 World Cup.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani, chairman of the Qatar 2022 bid committee, walks to shake hands with FIFA president Joseph Blatter. (File: Getty)

The Sunday Times says it's obtained millions of emails and other documents relating to alleged payments made by Mohamed Bin Hammam, the then FIFA executive member for Qatar.

It alleges that Bin Hammam, who is also the ex-Asian Football Confederation president, used slush funds to pay out the cash to top football officials to win a groundswell of support for Qatar's World Cup bid.

Bin Hammam, who launched an abortive challenge against incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter, resigned from his FIFA and AFC posts in 2012, shortly before he was banned for life from football administration by the global governing body's ethics committee.