New York: The 2022 Qatar World Cup will be “a game-changer,” tournament chief Hassan Al Thawadi declared yesterday.
Al Thawadi was appearing at a sports business conference in New York.
“We are going to be ready,” he said in an on-stage interview over 40 minutes, part of the Leaders Sport Business Summit.
“Hopefully with every day that people see progress on the ground, they’ll come round to the idea that the 2022 event is a game-changer.”
Al Thawadi reiterated that Qatar’s winning bid had not broken any rules. “We have always maintained that we have full confidence in the integrity of our bid.”
A final decision over the decision of a FIFA task force to move the games to the November-December time frame is expected later this month.
Al Thawadi said Qatar was planning to go forward with the summer games, but will comply with the final decision. “Whatever the international football community decides, we’re in support of it,” he said.
Five stadiums are at various stages of construction and the hotel expansion is aligned with Qatar’s long-term economic development plan, he said.
Asked if it was all worth it, Al Thawadi was emphatic. “Absolutely,” he said. “Football is that unifying sport... it brings people together. Especially at this point in time right now, with the world sadly polarised more and more... we need to tap into a platform that unites people more and more. We need to tap into that spirit.” AFP
