LAST year was an exceptional year for Qatar’s sporting legacy as it hosted top-notch events throughout the 2019 calendar and won plaudits from various international bodies for flawless organisation and infrastructure.
Qatar has always hosted many top billing international competitions like the Qatar Open tennis tournaments for men and women, Squash World Championship, World Swimming tournaments and many other championships in different disciplines. Last year, it was even more special as Qatar became the first Arab country to host the IAAF World Athletics Championships - the sport’s showpiece event.
Qatar also hosted the FIFA Club World Cup and Arabian Gulf Cup, which turned out as one of the most memorable editions in tournament’s long history.
These events saw thousands of sportspersons, officials and fans travelling to Qatar and the whole country turned out to celebrate the best sports moments. Qatar is not new in organising high-level athletic tournaments as Doha hosts Diamond League every year, where many world champions compete. The IAAF World Championships are much bigger in size and stature as it brings in more athletes, media and fans.
Doha rose to the occasion and played the role of a perfect host winning applause from one and all. Barring a day when there was little drop in number of spectators due to the timing, rest of the days were packed with fans cheering their heroes and all the guests returned impressed by the fabulous sporting spectacle. Organising the FIFA Club World Cup in December was the perfect way to end the decade and what a footballing festival it was.
Thousands of visiting fans got a chance to experience Qatar, who will host the marque event, FIFA World Cup, in 2022. The fans from Brazil and England were here for more than a week and this gave local organisers a chance to understand and learn how to host and entertain thousands of football fans. “We have always said that we want to showcase Qatari and Arab hospitality – and that’s exactly what we did during the Club World Cup.
The fans discovered a very friendly country which was prepared to go the extra mile in order to deliver a memorable fan experience,” Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan Al Thawadi said. The organisers got a chance to review and finetune the processes of ticketing, security, communications, travel, accommodation and more. The FIFA Club World Cup shows that they are on the right track to deliver an amazing World Cup in 2022.
