Australian football champion Tim Cahill has said Qatar is on the right track with its football development.
He also said Qatar would prove many critics of the 2022 FIFA World Cup wrong.
“Qatar will prove many people wrong, they should be proud of what they’re creating,” he was quoted as saying in a report posted on the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) website.
“You have got to give them the opportunity. It’s disrespectful for people to comment when they haven’t been to Qatar. But I’ve been here for holiday, I’ve been here for football, my family’s been here, and the main thing is when they do something they do something properly. People need to wait and then make their predictions after they’ve visited the country,” he said.
“Qatar’s got to keep doing what they’re doing and that’s developing good footballers and developing state-of-the-art facilities. When I visit Aspire - the best in the world when it comes to facilities and creating a community for the growth of football - I can’t say anything bad.”
For Australia’s talisman forward Tim Cahill, playing football in Qatar is a real delight, the SC website said. “Following his team’s 1-0 loss to hosts Qatar on Tuesday, the all-time leading goal-scorer for the Socceroos said that he ‘loves’ the country, the people and the facilities on offer”, it added.
Having played his club football in England with Everton FC for eight years between 2004 and 2012, the striker said that players would adapt to all conditions, whether rain or heat: “There was a breeze, but yes, Qatar is hot. Locals will tell you it is very hot, but the adaptability of football in every nation is the same. Sometimes if you play in England it rains, and here it’s hot, but you have to adapt to the situation. You have to give football a chance in every nation, not just because they have the best and biggest leagues in the world.”
Currently playing in the MLS with the New York Red Bulls, the player who scored what was widely seen as one of the most spectacular goals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Holland, said that Qatar was on the right track with its football development.
The skillful forward who featured in three consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments for the Socceroos and scored in all of them, added that he was impressed not only by the facilities on offer in Qatar, but also by the hospitality of the people.
“The way they treat my family, my teammates, and my fellow countrymen and their families it’s just such a beautiful, beautiful place so there’s not a bad word for me to say. Listen, I’m a massive fan. I love it here, I’ve been here a numerous amount of times and I’m a massive fan, every time I got injured when I was in the Premier League I visited Aspetar and Aspire. It’s one of the most professional setups I’ve ever been to in the world and you’ve got to embrace the way the people are and the hospitality.
“As a nation we’ve always been treated well, not only the players but our fans, it’s a proud country that has a big respect factor for people that visit and they’ve got to enjoy what they’ve got, especially their football team that’s growing every day.”
Meanwhile, London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games Events Services chief Andy Young has expressed confidence that the atmosphere in Doha will be “great” during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, “particularly due to the compact nature of the tournament”.
“Not much time will be lost on travelling and this should build a great atmosphere in the city,” said Young.
“I think it’s really important that the World Cup has come to the Middle East for the spectators to experience a different perspective,” Young added, emphasising that the facilities that the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) is developing will facilitate further national growth in all sectors.
‘An accomplishment for all GCC countries’
GCC information ministers have expressed their solidarity with Qatar against the “tendentious media campaigns” targeting its FIFA 2022 World Cup bid, saying the state’s right to host the tournament is an achievement made after years of hard work, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) said yesterday. The ministers emphasised that the achievement should be seen as belonging to all GCC countries, calling on the regional media organs to support the 2022 World Cup.
The ministers made the remarks during their 22nd meeting being held in Kuwait yesterday under the chairmanship of Kuwaiti Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem al-Humoud al-Sabah with participation of all GCC member states’ delegations and in the presence of GCC assistant secretary-general for cultural and information affairs Khalid bin Salim al-Ghassani.
