Qatar, the region’s sport hub, is bracing for action to resume more than three months after competitions were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe. QNB Stars League football action is set to return on July 24.
Competitions under the Qatar Olympic Committee will also get go ahead after July 20. The authorities have devised a multi-phase plan to resume sports after consultations with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in order to maintain the safety of all those involved. The plan is in place and the moment which sports fans of the country were waiting for anxiously is round the corner.
It will be a sight to behold when football stars will be seen in action after 100 days of hiatus at the QSL grounds that will also include the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venue – Al Janoub Stadium.
A series of thrilling action is on the cards in the coming weeks. At this stage the teams including players, technical administrative staff and referees are undergoing phased return plan which also involves several rounds of coronavirus tests. The game’s stakeholders are complying with the protocol set by the MoPH but there is a consistent need to adhere to the safety measures until situation returns to normal.
We have already seen how little carelessness or irresponsible attitude can spoil hard work done by the organisers as top-notch action made a return to many countries last month.
The controversy of Adria Tour in Zadar, Croatia, is still fresh in our minds after the tennis tournament was cancelled before the final following Grigor Dimitrov’s positive test. Later more players including World No.1 Novak Djokovic, who was seen in the pictures not following the safety guidelines, contracted the coronavirus.
Another tennis player Alexander Zverev is also under heavy criticism and maybe withdrawn for upcoming tournaments after footage emerged of him partying despite pledging to ‘follow self-isolating guidelines’.
These are some examples of incidents occurred in the last few weeks of how all joy can vanish because of irresponsibility on one’s part.
We all know the virus is highly contagious and following the safety guidelines strictly is the only solution to stay away from it. As Qatar will soon welcome the return of sports action, it is paramount that all stakeholders must make safety guidelines a top priority and let fans have what they had been waiting for.
