The Saudi man told reporters al-Qaeda leaders had not yet sanctioned his plan.

Iraqi police claimed to have prevented an attack on the World Cup, according to the BBC. The claims prompted phone calls from South African police, trying to find out what was going on.

The suspect was arrested after Iraqi forces found a note detailing the plan in a hideout used by two senior al-Qaeda figures, killed in April.

Qahtani told AP: "We discussed the possibility of taking revenge for the insults of the prophet by attacking Denmark and Holland.
 
"If we were not able to reach the teams, then we would target the fans."

The plan would have included car bombs and gun attacks.

He added: "It was only an idea to blow up the World Cup. It was relayed through other men, but I didn't get a reply."

The report said a note detailing the plan and Qahtani's name, was discovered in a joint US and Iraqi operation in which top al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were killed.

Qahtani was arrested by the Iraqi authorities on 3 May.