Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani highlights reasons for Qatar's impressive success in organising World Cup

HE Managing Director of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani attributed the success of Qatar in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which came to an end yesterday, to the great support of the wise leadership of the State of Qatar. The wise leadership supported all work and stood behind this great success recognised by the world with its various cultures and its diversity, he said, noting that this success did not come from a vacuum, but rather is the result of great work that continued for more than twelve years since Qatar won the bid to organise the World Cup.

Speaking to Alkass TV channel, His Excellency said that they in the SC were confident in Qatar's ability to achieve the highest levels of success owing to the great support of the Qatari leadership to organise a more distinguished edition, and that they had set special criteria for success, most notably the legacy of the tournament that benefits the world, in addition to the criterion of mass attendance with the World Cup, which is a major criterion for them in the committee.

The technical criterion was something known to everyone who followed the tournament through the impressive level of the teams as well as the level of the final match between Argentina and France, which exceeded all expectations and was more powerful and exciting, he said, praising at the same time the Moroccan national team and the impressive results they achieved in the World Cup as the first Arab and African team to reach the semi-finals and to compete strongly, describing their performance as an honourable one that added a lot to the tournament from a technical point of view.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani affirmed Qatar's fulfilment of the promises and commitments made before organising the World Cup through many distinctive standards that the world will absorb after a long period of time.

The tournament met all the standards of organisation and added a lot to the World Cup tournaments, His Excellency said, noting that it was a good opportunity that changed many world concepts about the Middle East and what it was known for in the past.

The SC Managing Director said the hard work and sincerity of all committees were behind the full success of the championship, considering that the implementation stage of Qatar's bid projects was the most difficult and that the Qatari competencies did a great job and did the impossible for an impressive organisation of the championship.

His Excellency stated that they focused on working diligently and with high quality in order to achieve success, without considering any criticism, pointing out that they in the committee went through difficult stages in the past 12 years that followed the announcement of Qatar's winning of organising the World Cup, but their confidence in achieving success was great.

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani thanked all the tournament's committees and said that they did a great job, noting that the security committee made a great effort to make it a success along with the media committee and the medical committee, which revealed distinguished talents and competencies that had an impact on the organisation, in addition to other civil committees that carried out their work with high professionalism, and they deserve thanks and appreciation.

For his part, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi said in a statement that the challenges facing Qatar's World Cup bid were turned into positives, adding that anti-Qatar campaigns started Dec. 3, 2010, only one day after Qatar had won the World Cup bid.

The Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy indicated that organising the tournament in Qatar opened horizons for many fans to fulfil their dream of attending the World Cup matches. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was the best tournament and sporting event in the world, and the Qatari organisation will not be repeated in any tournament in the future, he added.

Al Thawadi pointed out that one of the most prominent problems facing the Qatari World Cup bid was the lack of seriousness to accept Qatar's submission as a small and Arab country.

Qatar's goal from the beginning was not just to participate, but rather to host the tournament; Qatar was confident in winning, and over the days, it proved the seriousness of its bid and ideas, and managed to alter stereotypes of the FIFA members, he said.

The championship was an opportunity to connect together diversified cultures worldwide amid great interaction from Qatar's nationals and residents, he pointed out, adding that the fans who came to Qatar conveyed the advantages of organising the tournament in Qatar, which changed their perceptions of the Arab peoples.

The Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy noted that the World Cup Qatar 2022 is one of the most diverse tournaments that witnessed a variety of fan attendance, adding that the matches were highly watched by families around the world.

For his part, CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Nasser Al Khater highlighted that the tournament did not witness any security obstacles, thanks to the security authorities' plans. It was a safe and family-friendly tournament that brought cultures around the world together, he said.

All previous World Cups did not see four matches being played in one city or one region, and this was one of the most difficult challenges that faced the Committee, Al Khater said.

For his part, Director General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Yasser Abdullah Al Jamal said the vision of the country's wise leaderships and their follow-up on all the details of the committee's work was the motive for achieving an organisational success, carried out by Qatari cadres and the hard-working tournament team. This tournament gave Qatari cadres the ability to organise better future tournaments in all fields, he said.