MUMBAI: The Qatar 2022 Bid Committee has signed a sponsorship and exhibition deal for the television trade Soccerex 09 in order to promote their bid for what would be the first ever Fifa World Cup in the Middle East.

The Soccerex convention will run from 28 November to 2 December 2009 in Johannesburg

, South Africa.

A World Cup in Qatar would be the first global sporting event ever to be hosted by the Middle East, bringing greater unity and understanding between peoples from every continent and reflecting the Fifa slogan, "For the Game; for the World".

Qatar 2022 Bid Committee CEO Hassan Al Thawadi says, “Soccerex is an important part of our bid strategy and will help us promote our project to the key decision makers in the world of football. We have huge ambitions in Qatar and Soccerex is the place to share them. We believe there is something powerful in Fifa taking its premier event to the Middle East for the first time and we will be working hard to communicate this message throughout Soccerex and beyond.”