Qatar’s ‘futuristic stadiums’ example of venue planning

Moscow:  Qatar’s venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will have modern design and layouts and one international football reporter is stunned at the ‘futuristic stadiums’ that have been promised by the host country.
Last month, the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani unveiled the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium for the Emir Cup final that was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and nearly 45,000 fans.
The unveiling of the Khalifa International Stadium - completed with cooling technology - took place five years ahead of event.
In April, the organisers relaid the pitch at the Khalifa International Stadium in a world record time of 13 hours as it completed the renovation work without delays.
“I think Qatar will make a great World Cup. I am expecting the most futuristic stadiums in the history of the FIFA World Cup,” veteran Brazilian football journalist Gian Amato (pictured) said yesterday.
“I have heard about Qatar’s venue plans. I don’t know at what stage the construction is at the moment but the fact that they have completed their first World Cup stadium five years in advance is a very good example of what I am saying,” Amato said on the sidelines of the Confederations Cup in Moscow.
“I have heard some stadiums have climate control cooling technology. That is very impressive,” he added.
“I’ve heard that seats at some stadiums would be dismantled and shipped to other countries. That’s a very good idea too. I am looking forward to it because it will be a good experience for the Brazilian people, fans and journalists,” Amato added.
Amato, the O Globo journalist, said he was present in South Africa when the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in the African continent for the first time. He also reported extensively at home event - the 2014 FIFA World Cup staged in Brazil with traditional football fanfare.
Amato, who is set to cover the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, said he enjoyed being part of football showpiece’s event in Brazil.
“As a football fan, the World Cup in Brazil was much better, The energy, the atmosphere was much better. The crowd attendance was good.  There was a good vibe and we needed that at the time,” Amato said.
He said the 2010 FIFA World in South Africa was enjoyable because of the weather.
“The main difference between the last two World Cup editions was the weather. In South Africa it was the first FIFA World Cup held in winter. But it was so good to see the World Cup held outside Europe,” Amato said.
Amato, however, wasn’t impressed with the way some of the operations conducted for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“In Brazil, we had a lot of problems. I didn’t like how the Maracana was renovated. I preferred the old one. The renovated one seems to be disconfigured. This is not the way all Brazilians feels but most have similar thoughts,” he said.
“There is a huge problem of corruption that took top officials to jail. Somehow it is all related to bribe issues at World Cup,” he said without elaborating.
When asked about the state of the World Cup stadiums in Brazil, Amato said: “Some of the stadiums are being used and some are not. We don’t know who will take charge of the stadiums.”
Amato cautioned the world governing body FIFA on future World Cup hosts.
“I think (time for) FIFA model is over. (Hosting World Cups) in third world countries is not possible. It’s too expensive. They have to rethink that model,” he said.
“If you think now, then it wasn’t a very good idea (to host the World Cup and the Olympics within two years). We were not prepared for those huge events. They were the top two sports events in the world. And that’s why we are still paying the bills. The life hasn’t improved so much,” Amato said with a smile.