AlKass Digital
Doha, Qatar- FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Tuesday praised the progress made by Qatar towards hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The FIFA boss made a short visit to the country and took out time to visit the stadiums and related infrastructure projects. Infantino visited Al Wakrah Stadium before taking a helicopter ride to view the other seven proposed tournament venues. He also travelled on the Doha Metro from Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre in West Bay to Al Wakrah.
Speaking to reporters as the Al Wakrah Stadium, which is excepted to house 40,000 spectators on completion, he said: “The stadium here is very impressive. When you enter here you can immediately feel how imposing it is, and you can see the progress which is being made here four years before kick-off.”
“I think this World Cup is extremely important, not only for Qatar but for the whole region – a region that has a passion for football and is investing a lot in the game,” he said, highlighting the development of the game in the region.
“This World Cup is a unique opportunity – a chance to show the world what this region can offer; for football, but also for anybody in the world to come and visit a beautiful place, learn about a new culture and meet new people,” he added.
“In this world, especially in the current climate, it is very much needed that we open our doors and discover new places.”
“There are many lessons we can learn from Russia,” said Infantino, on the lessons learnt from Russia 2018. “The first one is how to welcome so many people – 1.5 million people came to Russia to enjoy the World Cup and they were all welcomed in a way that was unexpected to many. There were many fears about Russia, but it turned out to be a very safe World Cup, a very welcoming World Cup, in a country that made fans feel good. The whole population contributed to that and I’m sure the same will happen here in Qatar. The Russian World Cup was the best ever, and the World Cup in 2022 has to be even better.”
Infantino was accompanied on his tour by H.E. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and Engineer Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Rail.
Al Thawadi, on his part was proud to showcase Qatar’s progress.
“As always, it’s a pleasure to welcome the FIFA President back to Qatar to witness the huge progress we are making. This has been a landmark visit, with him experiencing Doha Metro for the first time and visiting Al Wakrah Stadium, which we are looking forward to launching in the very near future.”