Nasser Al Khater, CEO of Qatar 2022.
Nearly 70 percent of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 - to be held from December 11 to 21 - have been sold, a top Qatari official said yesterday.
Thousands of footballs fans from across the globe have started arriving in phases to watch global football giants Liverpool, Flamengo, Al Hilal, Tunisia Espérance de Tunis, Monterrey, Caledonia Hienghène Sport and Qatar’s Al Sadd.
“For the group stages, we have already sold 152,000 plus tickets. That figure represents 69.20 percent of the total tickets available for the tournament. That’s a very good number. Tickets sales are still ongoing. Fans can buy tickets on the FIFA website,” Nasser Al Khater, CEO of Qatar 2022, said yesterday.
Last week the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) announced that FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 match ticket holders ‘will benefit from free travel on Doha Metro’.
“Anyone with a printed match ticket will be eligible to collect a free standard class day pass from any metro station on match days. Tickets will be available in all stations from the Gold Club box office,” details said in a story posted on the SC’s official website.
Al Khater yesterday said Qatar is put up a slick show in hosting the Gulf Cup, a pre-cursor to the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019.
“We are very happy with our side of the organisation. The coordination between us and the Ministry of Interior is making things happen. There is great efficiency between all the stakeholders in the current scenario. We have no complaints from any of the teams or delegations . Overall there’s been a smooth conduct of the proceedings,” Al Khater added.
Al Khater said two Metro lines - Red and Gold - have eased commute toward the venues during the ongoing Gulf Cup.
“The use of Metro has been very successful for this event. This is the first time we are using the Metro for a big event. The Gold Line - that was launched for this event - has been a smooth operation. Thousands of fans have used the Metro. Literally thousands of fans have used it,” Al Khater said.
More than 40,000 fans turned up for Qatar’s 4-2 win over the UAE at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium on Monday. Al Khater said controlling huge crowds has been a breeze for the LOC.
“There is very efficient procedures set for crowd control. We are seeing that in the Gulf Cup as we speak. The security gates or the ticket turnstiles, the operations have been smooth though big matches always present some challenges. All in all, we are very satisfied with measures put in place,” Al Khater said.
With Qatar hosting two premier football events inside just 23 days has been a ‘good challenge’, Al Khater said.
“We have the Gulf Cup going on right now. This event started on the 26th of November and ends on December 8 and then we will have the FIFA Club World Cup that kicks off on December 11 and ends on the 21st. That’s some 23 days of football, back-to-back,” Al Khater explained.
“That’s more or less the length of the 2022 World Cup and it’s good to see the events happening back-to-back. We don’t look at the events as two, we look at it as one event with a break of just three days in between,” he added.
Al Khater said Qatari officials and FIFA representatives are working in collaboration for a smooth conduct of the 10-day event.
“FIFA officials are on the ground now. FIFA has been involved with us with the Gulf Cup. They are at the match venues. The feedback has been good. We sit, we talk, we exchange feedback every day. We have a debriefing every day. It’s a good working relationship,” Al Khater said.
“We have been working with the Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar Airways, the Ministry of Culture and Sports and other bodies. There’s a lot of activity at Katara and Souq Waqif for the Gulf Cup. There will be a lots of cultural activities during the FIFA Club World Cup also.
“It’s going to be a major feast for sports fans and visitors to Qatar,” he added.
