HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani attended the 72nd FIFA Congress held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) on Thursday chaired by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior delivered a speech at the congress, where he reiterated that Qatar will organise an exceptional and unparalleled version of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and, at the same time, appreciated the confidence that the world has placed in Qatar.
He noted that Qatar represents all its Arab brothers in hosting the World Cup and that it aims, through this, to leave a positive impression on the world sports map, to highlight the region's competitive capabilities and cultural and civilisational diversity.
The prime minister said everyone here in Qatar, everyone who visits the country can feel the hospitality Arabs are renowned for and see how modernity and development can harmonise with ancient traditions and heritage.
He pointed out that the World Cup represented an incentive to further advance the development of the country, especially in infrastructure projects and global tourism.
Regarding its legacy, the prime minister indicated that it will not be limited to Qatar, but will extend to the Arab world. It will also help change the stereotypes and have benefits to a large number of countries in the world.
The event was attended by a number of senior officials and members of the member associations.
Meanwhile, Infantino said "it would be a fantastic World Cup because it would be a unique World Cup" .
“Never ever I think in future we will have such a compact World Cup. Stadiums are within 50 kilometers of that. Not only fans can watch more than one game per day, but more importantly, there is no travel for the players, national teams. The World Cup, which is the biggest event in the world, football event, is actually played in the best season. So the players don't arrive at the World Cup at the end of a very tiring, exhausting, especially European season and then have still to play the World Cup,” the FIFA president added.
"It will be a great celebration, a great celebration of humanity, bringing the world together, an opportunity for the Arab world to present itself to the entire world, and an opportunity for the entire world to come and meet the Arab world, its culture, its history, and to celebrate all together," Infantino said.
On the changes to human rights laws in Qatar in the build up to the World Cup, Infantino added, "It has to be recognised that six years later, the work that has been done is exemplary. The work that in other countries that has taken decades has been done in a few years.
He noted that Qatar represents all its Arab brothers in hosting the World Cup and that it aims, through this, to leave a positive impression on the world sports map, to highlight the region's competitive capabilities and cultural and civilisational diversity.
The prime minister said everyone here in Qatar, everyone who visits the country can feel the hospitality Arabs are renowned for and see how modernity and development can harmonise with ancient traditions and heritage.
He pointed out that the World Cup represented an incentive to further advance the development of the country, especially in infrastructure projects and global tourism.
Regarding its legacy, the prime minister indicated that it will not be limited to Qatar, but will extend to the Arab world. It will also help change the stereotypes and have benefits to a large number of countries in the world.
The event was attended by a number of senior officials and members of the member associations.
Meanwhile, Infantino said "it would be a fantastic World Cup because it would be a unique World Cup" .
“Never ever I think in future we will have such a compact World Cup. Stadiums are within 50 kilometers of that. Not only fans can watch more than one game per day, but more importantly, there is no travel for the players, national teams. The World Cup, which is the biggest event in the world, football event, is actually played in the best season. So the players don't arrive at the World Cup at the end of a very tiring, exhausting, especially European season and then have still to play the World Cup,” the FIFA president added.
"It will be a great celebration, a great celebration of humanity, bringing the world together, an opportunity for the Arab world to present itself to the entire world, and an opportunity for the entire world to come and meet the Arab world, its culture, its history, and to celebrate all together," Infantino said.
On the changes to human rights laws in Qatar in the build up to the World Cup, Infantino added, "It has to be recognised that six years later, the work that has been done is exemplary. The work that in other countries that has taken decades has been done in a few years.