Qatar on track for 2022 World Cup: officials

DOHA: Oil-rich Qatar has a comprehensive and ambitious plan to have all the required facilities in the next few years for holding the 2022 World Cup in the most impressive way.

Awarded to the Gulf’s most important nation in 2010, this will be the first World Cup to be hosted by an Arab country.

Under its 2030 Vision, initiated in 2008, Qatar has done a good job in different sectors, including the stadia.

The organisers hope to bring different cultures of the world nearer through this World Cup. “The power of football is beyond borders and the World Cup is a bridge for uniting people from different cultures of the world,” secretary of Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy Hasan Abdullah Al Tawadi said here in an impressive presentation on Monday.

Qatar is yet to get final word from FIFA about how many stadia will be required.

“FIFA will let us know about the exact number of stadia which we will have to establish but there are eight stadia in our plan which will cater to the needs of the event,” Hasan said.

Just like the Euro 2016 helped France renew its football infrastructure, establishing the required football infrastructure would benefit Qatar for many decades to come.

Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium, which is also called the Olympic stadium, will have seating capacity for 40,000 which will be enhanced up to 56,000 after the World Cup in order to meet the needs of Olympics, if Qatar ever hosts it.

This will have sports museum besides other facilities.

Al-Wakra Stadium will have 40,000 capacity for the World Cup which will be reduced to 20,000 after the World Cup.

Located at the north of Doha, Al Bayt Stadium, will be completed by 2018 and have 60,000 capacity for the World Cup. It will be reduced to 35,000 after the mega event.

Education City Qatar Foundation Stadium will have 40,000 capacity for World Cup and be ready by 2019. Its capacity will be reduced to 30,000.

Al-Rayan Stadium will also have capacity for 40,000, but it will be curtailed to 20,000 afterwards.

Work on four other stadia is yet to begin. These will also have standard capacity.

These venues will be directly linked with Doha Metro and Qatar Rail in order to make it easier for the fans from around the world to get a sharp and well-facilitated access to the venues.

As many as 34 Express Ways are in the pipeline. Of them three have been completed, 14 are under construction, 11 are being designed and six are in the procurement stage.

“These projects will lead to sustainable development,” Hasan said.

Doha’s Hamad International Airport will also be expanded for the World Cup.

Under the 2010 Workers Welfare programme, Qatar has planned to prevent illegal recruitment practices, provide the labourers the most congenial working environment and enable them to get substantial salaries.

In order to ensure transparency in the implementation of all these projects, a four-tier audit system has been put in place.

“The companies will have to comply with our demands,” Hasan revealed. He also said that under the 2010 Workers Welfare programme, 5000 workers would be provided an opportunity to witness the final of the World Cup.

Under the 2030 Qatar Vision plan, launched in 2008, ambitious projects are being executed.

Meanwhile, Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general Thani Al Kuwari said that Qatar was now very adept in organsing big sports events.

“Besides hosting the World Indoor Athletics Championships and 2006 Asian Games, we also have the experience of hosting World Championships in handball, boxing, paralympics athletics, 2006 Asian Games and we are going to host a number of major world-level competitions,”  Kuwari said.

“In the Handball World Championships in Qatar in 2014, we got second position and it was a huge achievement. It was the first Arab team in the history of the event which came second,” he recalled.

“Around 10,000 people handled the organisation of that championship,” Kuwari revealed.

“The experience of organising these events helped us a lot. We now have people who could handle any mega event,” the official said.

“We also plan to organise 2016 Road Cycling Championship and 2016

World Bowling Championships, 2016 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Athletics Championships in 2019,” he said.