Doha is known to deliver a grand, good show when it comes to sports. It did exactly that last week from November 11 to 13 for the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) Evaluation Committee.
A four-member OCA delegation was in the Qatari capital to evaluate Doha’s 2030 Asian Games bid pledges. The Committee — headed by Andrey Kryukov — arrived to a grand welcome and left the Doha shores saying it had seen ‘enough’ to realise that the 2006 Asiad hosts had done a ‘massive job’ to deliver a ‘comprehensive plan’ for the 2030 edition.
The fact that Doha which has already established the infrastructure to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 raises its chances to win the bid to host 2030 Asian Games. What’s more, the OCA delegation arrived in Doha 13 months after the Qatari capital delivered the ‘most memorable’ IAAF World Athletics Championships that were hosted from September 27 to Oct 6, 2019 at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium. The OCA team landed in Doha two years after the same city put together a jazzy show when it hosted the 2018 FIG World Artistic Championships.
After arriving in Doha, the OCA team were taken around to some of the world’s best sporting venues and destinations. The OCA team visited the Aspire Academy, the world’s largest indoor sports facility that was inaugurated in the presence of sports icons like Pele, Diego Maradona and Nadia Comaneci in 2005. The OCA officials also visited the Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital that lies in the neighbourhood of the Aspire Academy. Kryuokov and his team also stopped by the beIN sports channel’s headquarters and the Lusail Sports Arena that is located in Lusail City which is home to the stadium that will stage the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar.
During their inspection trip to Doha, the OCA delegates also spent time at Qatar Foundation where the visiting guests were shown the Education City Stadium before making their way to Al Shaqab Arena, a show jumping fan’s paradise venue. The Evaluation Committee members also visited the Al Bidda Tower, the home of football in Qatar. The Al Bidda Tower visit included stop at the headquarters of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the body tasked with planning, preparing and delivering the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Kryukov after winding up the inspection tour said: “The committee is satisfied with what we saw and believes Doha’s existing infrastructure and sustainable concept has lot to offer for a successful Asian Games in 2030.” That line adds sheen to Doha’s standing as a sports hub of Asia.
