Three decision-makers, one historic handshake at the Kremlin. Yesterday’s meeting was the second most sought-after freeze frame for Qatar who won the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a historic FIFA vote on December 2, 2010.
The special moment on Sunday arrived a few hours before the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin officially handed over the host’s mantle to Qatar’s Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “I am sure that our friend from Qatar will succeed at holding the FIFA 2022 World Cup at the same highest level,” Putin said yesterday. “I’m sure that our friends from Qatar will be able to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the same high level.”
After Russia’s spectacular show as the hosts of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Qatar today officially begins the countdown to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the game’s showpiece event held once every four years. Qatar, where football remains the number one sport, kicked off its preparations after winning the FIFA World Cup bid race in December 2010. Since then, plenty has happened in terms of infrastructure development. Last year in May, Qatar renovated and inaugurated its iconic sports venue — the Khalifa International Stadium — five years ahead of schedule.
Two more stadiums will be completed by the end of this year with the rest of the five venues set to be completed by 2021, a year before the 2022 FIFA World Cup comes to Qatar. The spectacularly-designed venues in Qatar will be linked with the state-of-the-art metro.
A FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be more than just a football event. It will be the first ever FIFA World Cup to be held in winter. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be staged from November 21 to December 18. It will be the first time that we will see a FIFA World Cup in the Middle East.
Just about every household in the country and the region watches the world’s top football leagues via signals beamed live by Qatar-based beIN television network. Qatar hosted the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1995 and then hosted the continent’s best teams for the 2011 Asian Cup staged in January that year. Two of the football venues in Qatar — the Khalifa International Stadium and the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium — have state-of-the-art cooling technology.
FIFA Secretary General Fatima Samoura on Friday said in Russia: “The journey to Qatar 2022 - a unique version of the FIFA World Cup — has begun.”
The Qatar 2022 journey has the makings of a unique story of football uniting people.