QNA
Doha - Qatar Press Center organized a seminar titled: "Qatar World Cup 2022... Idea, Legacy and Sustainability," in cooperation with Qatar Media Corporation.
The event addressed several topics concerning the journey of Qatar's hosting of the World Cup 2022, which was held for the first time in the Middle East and Arab world.
The seminar touched on the historic successes Qatar has achieved at all levels, including the major achievements made by this hosting and its significant and influencing role for the generations to come.
In his inaugural remark, HE President of the Qatar Press Center Saad Mohammed Al Rumaihi welcomed the attendees, noting the size of the great success Qatar highlighted by hosting the first tournament in the region that enabled Arab people to feel proud.
In this regard, Al Rumaihi stressed that Qatar World Cup 2022 was one of the most successful tournaments to be organized in the history of the world cup, in addition to the young capabilities that were candidly able to organize one of the most successful tournament's versions.
What has been achieved will be a significant catalyst for Doha to proceed with providing excellence by hosting major sporting events, he noted.
On the other hand, Chief Operations Officer of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Jassim Abdulaziz Al Jassim said that Qatar handled the World Cup differently, and there was a sharp focus on legacy, adding that the tournament is not confined to 28 days only.
Al Bayt Stadium remained a destination for the inhabitants of Al Khor city and the remaining areas, Al Jassim added, pointing out that there are upcoming tournaments to be held in Doha, which is indicative of the existing infrastructure, as well as the accumulative expertise Qatar has acquired through the tournament and the outcome was satisfactory.
He underlined that all state entities had contributed to making a legacy, and there were synergistic efforts among all state institutions, as the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy sought to coordinate with all entities to overcome all vexing challenges.
In concluding his statement, Al Jassim asserted that plans are ready to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, and the work is afoot to accomplish everything similar to what had been achieved in the world cup, especially since the tournament stadiums will host the matches again.
For his part, Major Hamad Al Ali of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 security force indicated that since Qatar's bid to host the World Cup in 2010, there has been major work pertaining to the perfect preparations to host the tournament and create the suitable human cadre for the event.
Young security cadre had been dispatched to encounter numerous global experiences, whether in South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup, or Russia 2018 World Cup, as well as several European Union tournaments, Al Ali said.
He added that all cadres participated in organizing these tournaments and acquired great expertise, pointing out that the cadres came out with a special security operations concept in Qatar.
'Watan' exercise was inaugurated with the participation of several entities and friendly countries that achieved great success, he noted, adding that the exercise was effective and successful in all simulation scenarios during the world cup, including methods of cooperation and coordination among all entities to ensure achievement of security and success for the tournament.
Head of Land Transport Policies and Regulations Section at the Ministry of Transport, Najla Al Jabir said during her speech at the World Cup Qatar 2022 Idea, Legacy and Sustainability symposium that the focus was on achieving harmony with hosting requirements, preparing the infrastructure and ensuring its readiness, which enabled the Ministry of Transportation to achieve its goals and upgrading the infrastructure.
She added that the arrival time between regions has changed significantly, and this goal served the hosting process greatly, and visitors to Qatar and the World Cup were able to attend four matches per day, as only 40 minutes separate one stadium from another.
Al Jabir noted that great care was taken to make the means of transportation available to the public, and to use them in a flexible and accessible manner.
She said that the partnership with the responsible authorities was a milestone, in addition to testing the transport system and operating the public transport system, which achieved a unique experience, as well as benefiting from the experiences of other countries by attending similar tournaments after sending a team to the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
She explained that the comprehensive transportation plan targeting the year 2050 has been launched, and the development of the transportation system and the increase in capacity achieved by the State of Qatar has achieved a kind of comfort and reduced traffic congestion, and studies have indicated that more than 50 percent of the World Cup visitors relied on commuting using the metro.
Al Jabir concluded that the Ministry of Transportation is looking forward to further development of the logistical system and the movement of heavy transport, diversifying means of transportation for all types of users, and ensuring continuity of the sequence and being integrated and comprehensive.
For his part, Vice President of Operations in the Passenger Terminal and Central Area at Hamad International Airport, Abdulla Ali, said that the preparations began about nine years before the start of the World Cup through many experiments with the latest operational means, in addition to the expansion of the airport and the complete renovation of Doha Airport in order to accommodate the large numbers of fans, as well as many trips during the tournament period.
In the same context, Director of Highway Projects Department at Ashghal, Eng. Badr Al Darwish confirmed that the past 10 years have been busy at all levels. He added that Ashghal constituted the main arm of the state in infrastructure operations during the World Cup hosting, and there were great challenges in terms of project implementation, high level of performance, as well as the massive urban renaissance.
He concluded that the best standards have been used to maintain transportation in all regions of the country.
At the end of the symposium, all the speakers and participants were honored by HE CEO of the Qatar Media Corporation Abdulaziz bin Thani bin Khalid Al Thani and HE Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Press Center (QPC) Saad bin Mohamad Al Rumaihi.