Qatar is committed to delivering a successful FIFA World Cup next year and is well aware of the challenges the country may confront due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The authorities have already started taking steps to ensure health and safety of all stakeholders including fans, who are expected to travel in huge numbers from all around the globe for the tournament to be staged in the Middle East and the Arab World for the first time, in case the coronavirus stays.
Speaking at the 2021 Raisina Dialogue, H E Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani underlined Qatar’s plans to hold the World Cup in a befitting manner.
Qatar 2022 is already unique in many ways and organising it successfully in tough times will leave a long lasting legacy. The key point regarding the World Cup in H E the Foreign Minister’s speech was the announcement that Qatar is in talks with the vaccine providers to ensure that everyone attending the World Cup gets vaccinated.
“Right now there are programmes under development to provide vaccination to all the attendees of the World Cup. We will be able, hopefully, to host a COVID-free event. We also hope that globally the pandemic will start to go down and disappear,” he said.
To ensure that all World Cup attendees get vaccinated will be a huge task without any doubt, but Qatar loves challenges and with its determination it can achieve seemingly impossible milestones, and the country has proved that in the past. This means, Qatar, which is resolute to stage a highly-successful World Cup since the day it won its hosting right in 2010, will continue to be on track for a blockbuster event. The country despite so many challenges is already ahead when it comes to the World Cup infrastructure.
Four of the eight tournament venues have been launched. The Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali stadiums are hosting matches while Al Bayt, Al Thumama and Ras Abu Aboud stadiums are set to be launched this year.
The Lusail Stadium will be inaugurated early next year. Besides, the new metro system is already operational while many state-of-the-art expressways have also been built. By looking at the scenario, it is safe to say that Qatar is racing towards its target of organising a memorable football showpiece event. After all, this is what the people from all around the world need after many major sports events got affected due to the pandemic. Qatar will definitely become a source of joy and happiness for people by organising a spectacular World Cup and the authorities are working towards that goal tirelessly.
