Qatar whets appetite for World Cup in Middle East

(A commentary by Kofi Sumaila Addae, GNA Sports)

Doha, Qatar, Nov. 22, GNA - With barely two weeks to the announcement of the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, the mind of the sporting world and to a large extent, people within the Middle East and Asia is who gets the nod for the 2022 World Cup. It is an open secret that Europe is now destined to host the 2018 World Cup whilst Qatar, Japan, Korea, USA and Australia remain in the race for the 2022 edition.

All countries have come a long way since the submission of their bid reports to the inspectors of the FIFA delegation last September, and the moment the world has been waiting for is Thursday, December 2, in Zurich where the now 22-member FIFA Executive Committee, following the suspension of two members recently will vote on the decisions.

For the 2022 World Cup, Qatar has pumped huge resources coupled with scientifically backed solar and cooling technology in their quest for a first ever Mundial in the largely Arab-dominated Middle East. Despite their contribution to the game, the biggest football spectacle has yet to be staged in their region, and Qatar has launched that aspiration with a huge backing from their fellow countries in the region.

FIFA President, Joseph Sepp Blatter during a visit to Qatar last April observed that the Arab world deserves to host the world just as Africa had their turn in South Africa few months ago. "The Arab world deserves to host the World Cup. We are now nearing the end of the bidding process for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 and Qatar is the only country bidding from the Middle East. "I was an advocate of the FIFA's rotation policy. It was important to bring the World Cup to North America and Africa. Now I strongly feel that the World Cup should come to Qatar. I'm a regular visitor to Qatar and every time I land there, I am impressed by all the development," said Blatter. Qatar has scored full marks for hosting major international competitions such as the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1995 and the Asian Games in 2006 amongst others and will host the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup next January.

Infrastructure-wise, the tiny Arabian-peninsula bordered to the south by Saudi Arabia with a population of less than two-million has little worries as the state-of-the-art Doha Sports City which houses the globally famous Aspire Sports Academy and Khalifa International Stadium serves a great testament to the excellent sporting facilities they possess. However, the World Cup is usually held between June and July, and at the time of the year when the temperature in Qatar is very high and it is in this regard that their bid is firmly rested in the cooling technology. "We will tackle this issue with the construction of climate-controlled, zero-carbon emitting stadiums and to harness solar-powered technology to cool stadiums to about 27 Celsius," assured Lee Hosking, an official of Arup Associates, the architects and designers of the stadiums. Mohammed Bin Hammam, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said that climate should never serve an obstacle to the World Cup hosting dreams of any country.

"South Africa organized one of the most successful World Cups recently yet we had temperatures as low as zero degrees, usually not ideal for football," said Hammam.

The 'tiny' country has become a major destination for thousands of tourists from all walks of life and contrastingly, the largest number of tourists is recorded during June-July, when temperatures are very high. The Qataris insists their "World Cup" goal goes beyond football since it is aimed rather to enhance peace in the world.

Not only is their bid centered on unifying the world, but also countries in the developing world will be the beneficiaries of the modular stadiums. Some of the stadiums would be partly dismantled after the finals, with the extra seating shipped to developing nations who could reconstruct them as smaller stadiums to serve as one of the main legacies. In the eyes of Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, that vision and idea is noble and has placed his right thumb on the Qatar bid. "I would back the Qatar bid; I admire their purpose and vision. Addressing the hot climate issue and transporting the stadia to other countries is very clever," noted Ferguson.

Between November 15-18, Qatar organized the first ever Aspire4Sport Sports Congress and Exhibition at the Aspire Dome in Doha, and the event which was under the theme: "Sports business; more than a game", drew thousands of globally acclaimed sporting dignitaries. Amongst speakers were Sir Alex Ferguson, Roberto Donadoni (former Italy coach), Juninho Pernambucano (former Brazil midfielder), Osvaldo Ardiles (Argentine World Cup winner), Sandro Rossell (President of Barcelona FC), Track and field legend, Michael Johnson, Tennis legends John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, and Sir Frank Williams, founder and manager of the Formula One Williams team.

The climax of the four-day event was an international friendly between global giants Argentina and Brazil held at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday, November 17, which Lionel Messi struck a late winner for the Albicelestes.

Every seat at the 50,000 capacity stadium was filled to capacity as fans cheered on the globally acclaimed stars including Ronaldinho, Robinho, Neymar and Dani Alves of Brazil, as well as Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria, Pablo Zabaleta and Javier Pastore on the Argentine side. With the successful hosting of the one of the biggest games in football, the world on the lips of every Qatari is "Bring on the World Cup." 22 Nov. 10