SC Secretary General Hassan al-Thawadi (left) talking during the transfer of knowledge event.
QNA/Doha
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has hosted a transfer of knowledge event that brought together all staff along with key SC stakeholders in order to discuss lessons learned from the 2014 Brazil World Cup and enhance knowledge transfer towards hosting a unique Qatar World Cup in 2022.
SC Secretary General Hassan al-Thawadi highlighted the importance of learning from the key experiences in Brazil and collaborating with all delivery partners in Qatar. “This is an important day for us all. Every tournament has its unique challenges and opportunities. We sent more than 150 observers to Brazil last summer to five cities and I am very pleased with the feedback we got and with the diligence and commitment of our observers. In 2022 we will be a team of different cultures and nationalities working together to achieve a benchmark. Our compact World Cup concept will showcase that small countries too can host an outstanding tournament.”
The all-day event, held at Qatar National Convention Center, presented experiences and findings of key figures in the Brazil 2014 organising committee and the Brazilian government, as well as SC and stakeholder observers who attended the observation trip to the 2014 World Cup with the aim of identifying best practices for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The event, under the theme of ‘Pass it on: Brazil to Qatar,’ was organized into four panel-style sessions and included team building activities and interaction with the audience.
Ricardo Trade, CEO of the Brazil 2014 organising committee, provided an extensive overview of his experiences and said he was impressed by the level of planning and progress that he witnessed in Qatar: “I have been very impressed with the amount of detailed planning and stadium progress on five venues which has already been made in Qatar, seven years ahead of the tournament. The compact concept will leave the world open-mouthed, and I have no doubt Qatar will host a wonderful World Cup.”
In a session entitled ‘Brazil Story: Integration and Legacy’, several leading officials who supervised the 2014 FIFA World Cup spoke about their key learning, including Trade; Ron Delmont, managing director of FIFA’s Brazil office; and Joel Benin, head of special advising office for major sporting events of the Brazilian Ministry of Sports.
Commenting on SC’s experiences in sending 150 observers to Brazil, Nasser al-Khater, SC assistant secretary general for tournament operations, said: “While the media was quite harsh with Brazil in the lead up to the tournament, it was impressive to see the seamless transport operations and how everything worked well including integration with stakeholders. The level of football on display also contributed towards an outstanding tournament.”
The event on Monday was attended by over 800 people, including SC staff, as well as representatives from 12 stakeholders and delivery partners.
