Jose A. Benzaquen Perea
Since we arrived in Qatar to represent Peru, it has been a pleasant feeling to be in such a developed country, with its own characteristics that have always left a large mark on our lives, particularly on its people.
We were well received by a highly professional diplomatic team, headed by the Director of Protocol, where my expedition in Qatar began.
A few days later, I presented my greetings to Amir, His Highness Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, and then we have seen a leader appreciated by his people and respected by the entire international community, for his empathy without distinction towards everyone.
We have attended major international meetings at global level in Doha, on a variety of issues of global interest, in particular in politics, economics, cooperation, culture and sports.
The Ambassador and the consul of Peru met with the Peruvian community in Doha, together with enthusiasm, to prepare for the next soccer play-off match of the Peruvian national team, which will take place on June 13, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
In Sports, praise is obligatory for what we saw from Qatar, from receiving the players to the hospitality they get and the wonderful organization tell the astounding stadiums, almost all the Peruvian athletes who were in Doha participated in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
We are going through challenging times of a global pandemic; however, now we are immersed in this encounter of crowds and passions for a sport that is played everywhere in the world: football.
We recognize the great efforts and the very well-coordinated work of the Qatari sectors in conditioning 8 unique Football stadiums with the most advanced technologies through exclusive architectures, which we have visited admiringly.
We feel that it has been and continues to be great merit to host 32 national soccer teams from all the continents of the world to meet in this huge event to be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022; at the same time, we have to highlight that the Qatari team was crowned Champions of the Asia Cup in 2019 and will have the honor of opening this great World Cup sporting event on its territory.
For our country, Peru, we will play a playoff match on June 13, which will take place at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, at 9:00 pm, to arrive with passion and a sense of patriotism for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
To reach this expectant and long-awaited moment for the great Peruvian fans that will travel to Doha, offering them the opportunity to discover the peacefully Qatar, and its culture with generosity tradition, to know a country which -in a short time- has reached what it has now.
In a sport considered to be the most popular in the world, we had a long way to go within the famous national teams in the South American.
As a consequence of the sporting events that we have attended, naturally, we envision a successful world football experience that will promote friendship between our nations, and all those who are going to observe with enthusiasm and joy the days in which the best soccer players on the planet will play.
We, the Peruvians, will be grateful to all those who will join us in the matches in which the members of the Peruvian national team, with their white and red jersey, will display all their effort and talent for the satisfaction of the fan of this fantastic sport.
As a final point, I wish to express our appreciation to the State of Qatar, a country that marks a milestone in the history of the sport of soccer by hosting the games to be held in the Middle East and Arab World in the best possible way as this tournament will be like no other.
Faith is everything, and hope makes everything possible, but passion for a sport makes us pleased!
Jose A. Benzaquen Perea is the Ambassador of Peru to Qatar
