Peter Schmeichel Praises Qatar 2022's Compact Hosting Plans

Doha, October 31 (QNA) - During his recent visit to Doha, legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said Qatar's unique hosting concept and cooling technology will make for the perfect tournament for fans, players and officials. In a wide-ranging interview with sc.qa, the treble-winning Manchester United goalkeeper also heaped praise on Doha's unique hospitality and said he hopes Qatar will follow in Russia's footsteps when it comes to changing perceptions through hosting the FIFA World Cup. After what I've seen here over the past couple of days, I have to say that I am very much looking forward to the World Cup in Qatar. It was a great experience to be in Russia and be so close to the whole event. Four years is a long time, but I'm already very excited about what is going to happen here, he said. I'm hugely impressed with what I've just seen at Aspire Academy. There won't be many football clubs in the world who have facilities that come close to that. The only one I can think of is Manchester City, and even that is nowhere near as good, he said . The hope is that the money and ideas invested in this manifests itself in producing a competitive Qatari team in four years' time. Logistically it will be very easy for the fans. The metro will be finished soon, which will allow fans to move around from one ground to the other very quickly. The roads are being expanded, while there's also a tram system, train system and water taxis. There's a lot in place to make this so easy for fans. That's one thing they did really well in Russia despite the distances between venues, the infrastructure was really good and the fans, by having a fan pass, could jump on any train they wanted to. And everyone found it relatively easy, he added. Qatar Organizing Committee has challenges too. Fans will come here wanting to have a good time many will have saved for a long time to come and watch the World Cup and there will be a lot of things they want to do. Many will come here and be wanting to have a party a great party that lasts for as long as their team is involved, and they should be allowed to have that party, he noted. That's one of the major success stories of Russia 2018, that everyone who travelled really had a good time. It should be a benchmark for all future tournaments. On Russia 2018 proved hugely positive for the overall perception of the country, he said absolutely, the opportunity is definitely there. Russia is a perfect example of people thinking one thing about a country, and quickly realising that many of the negative stereotypes they may have been exposed to beforehand were wrong. For instance, securities many people may think Qatar is unsafe, but coming here you quickly realise you're probably in one of the safest places on the planet, he added. In Russia it was the potential for violence, but there was literally nothing. So many people I met came away commenting on how friendly and accommodating the country was. It just shows the opportunity the World Cup provides to showcase your country to the world, and I think Qatar has every chance to do exactly that, he said. (QNA)