The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar University organised on Thursday a panel session entitled "Qatari Football and the World Cup", with the participation of the former President of the Qatar Olympic Committee H E Sheikh Saoud bin Khalid Al-Thani, President of the Qatar Press Center Saad Mohammed Al Rumaihi, and Prof. Ahmed Al Emadi.
Organised by the College of Education, Qatar University, the panel dealt with two main themes about football in Qatar and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in addition to some aspects and historical stages of Qatari sports.
The Dean of College of Education Dr. Hessa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said that sport is an important competitive field of education and the first pillar of a good life, adding that it gives the athlete the desire to give and work in group and contributes to the development of higher skills such as analysis and evaluation.
She said that football is a tool of unity and positive cooperation between competitors, stressing that the College of Education organized this panel to highlight important aspects as a contribution to the country's efforts to prepare for hosting World Cup.
Sheikh Saoud said in statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 for the first time in the Arab region is a great honour, pointing out that Qatar has achieved, through sports, a construction boom, highly praised by the world, and was able to be among the best countries in the world in the fields of education, health and urban development, and over the course of 12 years it became a focus of global attention.
He noted that sport is of great importance in various fields, and it is necessary to pay attention to all sports besides football, pointing out that the establishment of the Olympic Committee contributed to the development of Qatari sports and the making of Qatari champions.
Al Rumaihi said that football today has become the most prominent event for the whole world for its close connection with economic, social and political sectors due to its great impact on the world, stressing that Qatar does not know the impossible in any field, especially in the field of sports and hosting successful tournaments.
In a similar statement to QNA, Al Rumaihi said that Qatar's hosting of this world championship is a message to the world that the Arab fans are advocates of peace and spread messages of love between countries without discrimination, noting that hosting the World Cup is a real opportunity to convey the beautiful image of the Arab peoples, which are distinguished by good hospitality and spreading love.
During the panel, he spoke about the history of football around the world, starting with the establishment founding of the English Federation in 1863 to reviewing the most important phases the Qatari football has gone through since the 1980s, expecting that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be watched by at least by one billion and 700 million people around the world.