Qatar Continues Preparations to Host the Arab World's First World Cup

Doha, July 08 (QNA) - The countdown to the last 500 days before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022, which will be hosted by the State of Qatar for the first time in the Arab world and the Middle East, began Thursday. Since Qatar won the right to host the World Cup back in 2010, the country immediately began a race against time to fulfill the obligations it committed to when it applied to host the event to fulfill its promises to organize an exceptional version of the World Cup. Today, Qatar has succeeded in completing 95 percent of the infrastructure projects necessary for the tournament, including stadiums, training grounds, and others. It has announced the readiness of four stadiums, and started operating the Doha Metro lines more than two years ago, in addition to continuing work to complete the highway network across the state. In light of ongoing preparations to receive more than one million fans during the World Cup, Qatar spared no effort to ensure that fans, players and officials get a unique experience that reflects the Arab culture and its authentic traditions. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament will be held in eight World Cup stadiums: Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Education City, Ahmed Bin Ali, and Al Bayt, which have been completed and are ready to host the competitions, in addition to the Al Thumama, Ras Abu Aboud and Lusail stadiums, which will be unveiled before the end of this year. Most of the World Cup stadiums were designed with the Qatari and Arab culture in mind, embodying some of its aspects and features. For example, Al Bayt Stadium is similar in design to the House of Poetry, which was inhabited by the people of the desert in the past, while Lusail Stadium was designed with its shiny golden exterior in tribute to the golden pots used by the Arabs in the past. The ripples of the roof of the South Stadium embody the waves of the sea and the sails of the boats that the people of the ancient city of Al Wakra used to seek their livelihood in the depths of the Arabian Gulf. As for Al Thumama Stadium, it was designed with Qatari fingers in the form of the traditional head cap worn by the majority of men in the Arab region. In addition, the design of the stadiums took into account the aspects of heritage to ensure that these sports facilities were used to serve the community and its members after the World Cup competitions were closed. In this regard, it is planned to convert the majority of stadiums into community, sports and medical facilities after the tournament, in addition to donating some stadium seats to countries that lack sports infrastructure. The legacy initiatives will contribute to ensuring that the Qatar edition of the World Cup, after its completion, leaves a positive impact for the benefit and benefit of Qatar and the world. In addition, Qatar is proud of the construction of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, which is the first stadium in the history of the tournament that can be completely dismantled into parts. In light of the geographical size of the State of Qatar, fans and players await an unparalleled experience in the 2022 World Cup, where everyone will find themselves at the center of the action throughout the tournament. Visitors will land in Qatar through one airport, Hamad International Airport, with the possibility of staying in one residence for the duration of the competitions. Everyone will always be close to the match stadiums, and all the tourist attractions in the country. All eight stadiums are not more than 50 km from downtown Doha, which means short commute times via the Doha Metro or the modern road network. The proximity of the distances will provide a golden opportunity for the participating teams to train in one training location throughout the tournament, which will allow them to better prepare for matches, without having to travel from one city to another throughout the tournament. Fans will have the opportunity to attend two or more matches per day during the early stages of the competitions, for the first time in the modern history of the World Cup, as the longest distance between the tournament stadiums does not exceed 75 km (between Al Bayt Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium), while the shortest distance between the tournament stadiums 5 km (between Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium and Education City Stadium). Five World Cup stadiums are directly connected to the metro network. As for the other three stadiums, they are located close to metro stations that can be reached by bus. The State of Qatar is working to make use of all available facilities to fulfill its commitments towards sustainability and to ensure that after its completion the tournament does not leave useless accommodation facilities. Fans and visitors will have many accommodation options that meet their aspirations and budgets, including two- and five-star hotel rooms, apartments, fan villages, and rooms on board floating hotels on cruise ships docked in Doha Port overlooking the waters of the Arabian Gulf. Among the innovative accommodation options that will be available to World Cup fans, is accommodation in desert camps, so that guests will have the opportunity to experience a unique experience that introduces them to hospitality, authenticity and authentic Qatari traditions. The delegations of fans will arrive in Qatar via Hamad International Airport. Thanks to public transportation, especially the metro, fans will be able to travel to and from tournament stadiums and across the country with ease. The Doha metro network includes 3 lines and 37 stations. The metro connects to five of the eight World Cup stadiums, and the ticket price for one trip is two Qatari riyals ($0.55 dollars). The Doha Metro has been designed according to the standards of availability and accessibility to receive fans and visitors with disabilities. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be held in November and December. The weather will then be ideal for players and visitors, as the average temperature in Qatar at this time of year is between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius, which will allow visitors to enjoy the warmth of the sun on Qatar's beaches and the breezes in the desert. Qatar also has a number of distinctive museums, shops and international shopping centers. In addition, visitors can experience unique experiences such as driving over hills and sand dunes, enjoying various water sports, playing golf at Education City Golf Club, or tennis at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Qatar is committed to ensuring the tournament will leave a social, sporting, humanitarian and environmental legacy that will benefit the Qatari community, the region and the world at large. To achieve this goal, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has launched several initiatives and programs, which are Workers Welfare, The Amazing Generation, Challenge 22, and Jusoor Institute. Since winning the right to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, the State of Qatar has also been keen to place the health and safety of workers at the top of its priorities, and these efforts have resulted in the preparation of worker welfare standards that stipulate treating everyone who works in the implementation of projects with respect and dignity in accordance with the standards of and the foundations of human rights recognized globally and in an atmosphere that guarantees the health and safety of all. These standards cover the protection of the rights of the worker from the moment he is hired until he leaves Qatar for his homeland. More than 30,000 workers participated in all projects related to hosting the tournament, and more than 14,000 workers are now working on stadium construction sites and training grounds. The Workers Welfare Standards contributed to the payment of 102.9 million Qatari riyals to workers in compensation for illegal recruitment fees they paid to intermediaries in their countries before coming to Qatar, in addition to the launch of worker health and safety initiatives such as a comprehensive medical examination system, electronic medical records for workers, nutrition programs and cooling jackets Complaints hotline, and more. To ensure full compliance with the Workers' Welfare Standards, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, in cooperation with relevant partners, conducted more than 20,000 interviews with workers, 1,300 inspection tours of workers' accommodation, and more than 2,000 audits and inspections at work sites. As for Generation Amazing, it is the Social and Humanitarian Heritage Program for the 2022 World Cup, and it succeeded in establishing 30 community football stadiums in Qatar, Oman, Nepal, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, the Philippines, India and Syria. These playgrounds provide safe spaces to teach young people basic life skills through football, and since its inception in 2010, more than 725,000 people have benefited from the program's activities and initiatives. As for "Challenge 22", it is a program launched by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy with the aim of encouraging innovation, and it calls on entrepreneurs, innovators and startups from the Arab world to provide solutions that support Qatar's hosting of the World Cup in 2022. Since its launch in 2016, Challenge 22 has supported 13 startups in the region, all the way to the stage of launching their products in the market. These products will contribute to enriching the experience of fans coming to Qatar in 2022 to attend the World Cup competitions. As for Jusoor Institute, it is a center of excellence in the field of managing and organizing sports events, and it aims to ensure the transfer of knowledge gained from organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to future generations of sports professionals and organizing major events in Qatar and the region. The institute offers professional diploma programs for specialists, in addition to organizing training courses and providing opportunities for building relationships. Thousands of institute programs and courses related to Qatar's hosting of the 2022 World Cup have graduated. The SC's community outreach initiatives aim to educate people in Qatar about the opportunities and positive impacts created by the country's hosting of the next World Cup. Among these initiatives are the Youth Group, the Empowerment Forum, and the Volunteer Program, which received more than 370,000 applications for registration. Many volunteers participated in the events hosted by Qatar on the way to preparing for the World Cup, including the FIFA Club World Cup hosted by Qatar in 2019 and 2021, and the qualifiers Qualification for the FIFA Arab Cup 2021. (QNA)