Reports: Qatar Bribed Eight Ecuadorian Players $7.4 Million to Lose World Cup Opener

• The decision to award Qatar hosting rights for the World Cup has been marred by controversy, including allegations of corruption and human rights violations
• With just three days before the start of the Mundial, major reports and rumours are making the rounds, alleging the host country has bribed its opponent Ecuador
• The Middle East hosts are billed to square off against the South Americans on Sunday, November 20 in the opening game at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor

The build-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been less than spectacular, owing to the Middle East nation's deplorable human rights record interlaced with allegations of corruption.

Qatar's decision to host the biggest sporting festival on the face of the earth has been described by critics as attempts by the oil-rich nation, to use football to cleanse its image on the international scene - best described as 'sports washing'.

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With just three days left for the start of the Mundial, another layer of allegations has been added to the already well-documented fractured state of Qatar.

According to Amjad Taha, the regional director of the British Middle East Center for Studies and Research with over 400,000 followers on Twitter, Qatar has bribed players of Ecuador ahead of the opening game.

He alleges that the World Cup hosts bribed eight Ecuadorian players $7.4 million to lose the opening game of the tournament, to be held on November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium, Out Kick reports.

As of the time of writing, with only a few days left to the start of the tournament, world football body FIFA and the government of Qatar are yet to deny the rumours.

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Meanwhile, FIFA has written to World Cup teams, urging them to focus on football in Qatar and not let the sport be dragged into ideological or political battles.

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Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Netflix has officially released its explosive docu-series that reportedly lifts the lid on widespread and systemic corruption within FIFA.

Titled FIFA Uncovered, the four-part documentary series sought opinions of whistleblowers, experts, and former and current officials of FIFA.

It touches on a variety of subjects, the key among them being how Qatar and Russia were unfairly awarded the hosting rights of the World Cup in 2022 and 2018 respectively.