The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar will leave an important legacy for Qatar and the region, according to Nasser al-Khater, assistant secretary general for Tournament Affairs at the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC). 
Speaking at the World Football Summit in Madrid alongside CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and EPFL president Lars-Christer Olssen, al-Khater pointed to Qatar’s long-term planning to ensure the tournament in 2022 leaves a tangible legacy for multiple communities. 
“It is important for any nation bidding to host a mega event to see where it is in its national trajectory. For Qatar in 2009, there was the Qatar National Vision and masterplan in place, so we took a lot of inspiration from the essence of that vision. We looked at how this World Cup can be an engine to help Qatar achieve it’s vision.” 
Al-Khater highlighted that communities in which stadiums are being built were consulted in advance to make sure the venues become useful hubs after the event. 
“We worked with architects and engineers to see what the stadiums could become after the tournament. We went to the communities, to see what is missing and what is needed. We took this into consideration when we did the master-planning for each stadium precinct. 
“We have also focused on social and economic development programmes, such as Challenge 22, where we have innovators submitting business ideas, because we said this World Cup has to have a legacy in all of the four pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030.”