Qatar and the Arab world are still reminiscing the magnif-icent FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 which is widely regarded as the best-ever edition of the global football fiesta.
While Lionel Messi and Argentina cherished their coun-try’s third World Cup victory, the rest of the world also had a number of reasons to celebrate.Bringing together different cultures in a global village was one of the greatest highlights during the 29-day extravaganza, and Qatar’s generous hospitality received wide praise from all over the world.
The World Cup attracted over 1.4 million visitors to Qatar while the country was the cynosure of the entire global community, making the host nation revel in a blend of different cultures. Apart from hosting a record number of spectators at state-of-the-art stadiums, the Qatari capital welcomed more than a million fans to numerous cultural and entertainment events between matches, including the FIFA Fan Festival, Corniche Activation and many others.
The revolutionary Hayya Card enabled smooth flow of travelling through Doha’s airports as well as the port, while GCC countries opened their borders to visiting World Cup fans.
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States H E Ahmed Aboul Gheit was among those who admired the successful and impressive organisation of Qatar 2022 as he extended congratulations to the State of Qatar, the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, government and the residents.
During the 42nd meeting of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs in Doha, Aboul Gheit stressed that through the success of the tournament, Qatar has proved to the entire world that Arabs have the ability and grit to hold global events and activ-ities at the highest levels.
The success is evident by the reactions of visitors, many who had their first glimpses of the Arab culture. The Peninsula came across numerous visitors who were mesmerized by Qatar’s hospitality, apart from the success in hosting world’s best teams at venues which amazed the entire football fraternity.
FIFA highlighted the incident-free nature of the tournament – which itself is a huge plus-point of Qatar 2022 and reiterated the joyful atmosphere during the November 20-December 18, 2022 tournament.
Khalid Al Mawlawi, Deputy Director General, Marketing, Communications and Event Experience at the Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), in a recent interview, said: “We believed the time was right to bring the World Cup to the Arab world for the first time - to shed light on our culture and heritage, and change negative perceptions about the region. We provided a platform which united fans through their passion for football and offered a golden opportunity for a beautiful exchange of cultures.”
And that is exactly what Qatar did.
