Thursday, January 26, 2023 – 7:00 PM
DUBAI, 26th January / WAM / His Excellency Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, confirmed during the project management session of major sporting events on the second day of the Dubai International Project Management Conference, which ends today in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, that the total value of infrastructure investments The infrastructure in the State of Qatar since its announcement of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup has amounted to $220 billion, including the cost of hosting the tournament.
The CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 explained during the session moderated by sports journalist Mustafa Al-Agha that some media outlets tried to inflate the number of Qatar hosting this tournament, ignoring the fact that the State of Qatar made these investments in implementation of the 2030 infrastructure development strategy and not only for the World Cup. .
Al-Khater pointed out that the source of the idea of Qatar hosting the World Cup began with hosting the Youth World Cup in 1995 and a number of other international sporting events that it succeeded in organizing, and from there came the idea of hosting the World Cup. Infrastructure and others. There, the State of Qatar has developed a comprehensive strategy since 2006 for infrastructure, in line with the World Cup strategy, which included many details, including the metro, transportation lines, road network, and housing.
He explained that changing the date of the international tournament, which is usually held in the summer, was decided early in Qatar’s announcement of hosting it, as Qatar pledged to cool all stadiums, then the date was changed to the winter season in order to preserve the spectators’ experience and give them the best experience during their visit to Qatar. He explained that this experience will open the door to hosting these events in the winter instead of the summer in the future.
Nasser Al-Khater stressed that the most important foundations laid by Qatar during the implementation of the infrastructure projects accompanying the World Cup are “sustainability in both its environmental and social aspects through recycling the use of stadiums and distributing them for the benefit of clubs, in addition to completely dismantling Stadium 974 and utilizing the land in projects of a tourist nature, as well as Lusail Stadium.” which will be rehabilitated for use in other sports activities, while the metro remains an essential part of the infrastructure.”
He praised the importance of government partnership with the private sector, pointing out that during the 12 years of preparation for the tournament, this partnership played an important role in developing infrastructure, as well as setting plans for the development and growth of the State of Qatar. We benefited from the London model in 2012, which formed a partnership between the two sectors to host the World Cup. .
He explained that the World Cup contributed to changing the rhythm of government work mechanisms in the State of Qatar and making it more dynamic and innovative. He said, “In the beginning, we were 5 people, then our number increased to 30 when we applied to host, and we were very excited about the idea, and we wanted to follow a new pattern run by young people, which is what It caught the attention of a scientist at the time, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy was responsible for constructing stadiums and coordinating with various parties. As for the Supreme Committee, it was joint between the State of Qatar and FIFA.
Al-Khater appreciated the great role played by neighboring countries in supporting the World Cup in Qatar, especially its airlines, which transported fans around the clock to and from Doha, where there were 1.8 million fans who used to come to us, stressing that the Gulf countries are able to organize any sporting or other event. And that national competencies are able to organize it.
He added that we were interested in the success of the tournament after we faced challenges, our goal became to be the most successful tournament ever thanks to our continuous efforts and the energy of the work teams. There is no doubt that we used international expertise, but our great reliance was on local competencies and volunteers from all countries of the world, who numbered about 20 thousand volunteers In addition to 15 thousand employees.
He explained that the Jusoor program aims to train competencies capable of managing sporting events in the region, and that Qatar is continuing to host more sporting events. “The projects are ongoing and will continue after the World Cup,” he said.
And he stated that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 achieved high and wonderful ratings in terms of organization, noting that the evaluation of others was wonderful and everyone … expressing his happiness with that, as there were 2.7 million fans who attended from different countries of the world, so it was an exceptional tournament, the stadiums are crowded, and the demand for tickets is high. To record 80 million purchase requests for 3 million tickets, 96.2 percent attendance in the tournament, 88.96 thousand spectators in Lusail Stadium only, and the highest number of goals at the World Cup level.
Abdel Nasser Moneim / Munira Al-Sumaiti
