FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022... SC Officials Affirm Qatar's Readiness to Host Tournament

Doha, July 05 (QNA) - Several officials from the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) confirmed, during their participation in a live session organized by the Nadeeb Qatar on Twitter on Monday night, the State of Qatar's readiness to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the end of this year, with the tournament being an opportunity to reflect and highlight the Arab and Qatari heritage and culture. The Executive Director of Sales, Marketing, and Communication in FIFA World Cup 2022 Hassan Rabia Al Kuwari confirmed that a new process will be launched to sell tickets for the tournament, starting Tuesday at 12 pm Doha time until Aug.16, through FIFA's official website. Unlike the previous stages, the purchase of the tickets will be made directly without the lottery system. The lottery system for selling tickets followed previously was aimed at providing a fair opportunity in the purchase process for all fans. The previous phases witnessed record numbers of one million and 800 thousand tickets, Al Kuwari added. He explained that the ticket prices in the phase beginning on Tuesday are the same prices announced previously and include 4 categories, one for citizens and residents and another for people with disabilities. He pointed out that the fan can buy 60 tickets during the tournament and attend more than one match per day for the advantage of being near the stadiums, and one person can buy six tickets for each match. The Executive Director of Sales, Marketing, and Communication for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stressed that SC is keen on facilitating the process of entering stadiums for people with disabilities, as all tournament stadiums are fully prepared to serve them from the moment they arrive at the gate of the stadium until they are seated, by providing a special outlet to buy tickets at the site where they are sold. Al Kuwari noted the need to purchase tickets through FIFA's official website to avoid being exposed to fraud. It is expected that the remaining tickets will be offered in the future at a later time if they are available after the end of the next ticket sale period on Aug. 16, he added. On the mechanism of the ticket purchase process, Al Kuwari said that the purchase of World Cup tickets for citizens and residents inside Qatar is through the VISA card; for outside the country, it is done through the VISA card or other cards approved by FIFA. In the event that the fan is unable to attend the match that he purchased, the process of returning tickets will be available before the tournament through the FIFA website. For his part, the Executive Director of the Housing Department at SC Omar Al Jaber confirmed, during his participation in the live session, that there are many housing options for the tournament that have been announced since last March and are updated daily to increase housing options. Namely, these options include apartments, villas, regular hotels, and floating hotels, hosting family, relatives and friends. The services that will be provided in the apartments and villas will be carried out through a company specialized in hotel services to offer an integrated service with a rating of 4 and 5 stars according to the location of the property and the services available in these properties, while the services available on ships are of a 5-star rating. The number of rooms in the two ships reached 4000 rooms, including 100 rooms for people with disabilities, and all rooms accommodate approximately 9,000 people. There are also entertainment activities that will be on the two ships. The Executive Director of the Housing Department at SC added that among the housing options for people with disabilities, there are two projects submitted by Barwa Company to equip a number of rooms to meet the needs of people with disabilities to provide them with comfortable housing. Omar Al Jaber also explained the stages of how to host family and friends through easy and simple steps. Based on registration by entering the official document data correctly, each person can host 10 people during the tournament in the housing unit or units of the host. The fan can determine the accommodation method as either single or shared through the many options available on the Hayya platform. The official spokesman for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Khaled Al Naama said that Qatar's hosting of the World Cup 2022 is the most prominent event in the region. He revealed that the current period is witnessing continuous meetings held daily between the joint working teams at FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. He explained that these are coordinating meetings between all teams, especially after the infrastructure of the tournament was completed 100 percent, with only the official inauguration of Lusail Stadium remaining, which will be held soon. He stressed that the Supreme Committee expects a huge audience during the World Cup. The SC official spokesman explained that there is a hotline affiliated to the Hayya platform that works in Arabic and English, and with the World Cup approaching, the rest of the FIFA-approved languages will be included. With the start of the tournament, the current hotline service will be provided to many offices on the ground to provide information to fans in coordination with Qatar Tourism. He pointed out that the numbers currently working in the hotline service are 8002022 from inside Qatar, 0097444412022 from outside Qatar, during which all inquiries related to the Hayya platform are answered, while inquiries related to the ticket process are transferred to FIFA. Al Naama spoke about the Qatari artist Bouthayna Al Muftah, who designed the official poster for the tournament, in addition to the fact that the tournament is an opportunity to show Qatari talents and the bright aspects of Arab and Qatari civilization and culture. Al Naama revealed that the opportunity is still open to register in the volunteer program during the tournament, adding that there is a recently launched decorating competition that is open to individuals and companies in order to contribute to the decoration of some places in the country. The tournament is an opportunity to attract artistic talents from the Arab world to participate in cultural performances that will be outside the stadiums, which is an opportunity for non-professionals in the arts side of the Arab countries, he said. The SC Spokesman confirmed that Qatar is always proud that the World Cup 2022 is the World Cup of all Arabs, pointing out at the same time that during the tournament there will be two media centers, the first is a major broadcasting center for media authorized for broadcasting rights and approved by FIFA, and the second is for the Supreme Committee. Al Naama also stressed that all fans who will come to the country during the tournament will be admitted to Qatar only by passport, so far no other document has been announced, and there are plans that will be announced by the authorities about entering the country through the land port. The mechanism of entry of cars to the State of Qatar will also be announced during the World Cup in the coming period. For his part, Executive Director of "Hayya" platform Saeed Al Kuwari confirmed that the "Hayya" card is one of the basic requirements before arriving in the country, and it is related to the purchase of tickets to attend the tournament's matches. The application mechanism for obtaining it is twofold for citizens and residents inside the state, and fans coming from abroad. Al Kuwari said that the "Hayya" card has many advantages and services listed on it, as it is a smart card that enables its owner to enter the country and stadiums, in addition to providing free transportation and public transport for the holder. It also contains information of congestion spots, delivery route services, and options near you for entertainment areas and restaurants. The fans who will request the "Hayya"cards must comply with the existing instructions for the method of submission, making sure that the correct data for the proof document is entered and clear photos are uploaded so that the application is not rejected. (QNA)