Doha, May 18 (QNA) - The compact nature of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the legacy and sustainability projects associated with the tournament have won the admiration and appreciation of sports media in Spain.
The State of Qatar is hosting the most compact edition in the history of the FIFA World Cup, as the eight World Cup stadiums that host the matches are located an hour's drive from the center of the capital, Doha, enabling fans to attend more than one match per day.
The Spanish praise also focused on the sustainable heritage projects that will be established as a result of the World Cup in Qatar, which will bring many benefits to societies after the end of the tournament. These projects will have a positive impact on countries in the region and the world for decades to come.
Editor in Chief of Spains Marca Juan Carlos said that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be the best-ever for a number of factors; it will take place in the middle of the season when players are in-form, early completion of preparation which will help ensure the success of the competition.
Speaking exclusively to Qatar News Agency (QNA), he said that the World Cup is an opportunity for the State of Qatar and the region to announce themselves in the world of sports. He added that Qatars success in hosting the World Cup will open the door for the country to host the Olympics in the future.
Large Public Presence
He explained that the possibility of the public attending two or more matches a day gives the World Cup a great public momentum, for the first time a fan can attend his country's match in the World Cup and has the possibility to attend a second and perhaps a third match, pointing out that this matter will lead to a large public presence in all World Cup matches.
He considered that attending two or three matches in one day is a dream for any fan, and the State of Qatar was able to achieve that dream due to the close proximity of all World Cup stadiums, as well as the presence of a wonderful transportation network that serves these stadiums and enables the public to move easily.
The editor-in-chief of Marca was not surprised by the strong demand for tickets in the World Cup, which reached more than 23 million ticket requests, explaining that the State of Qatar and FIFA were keen that World Cup tickets would be at a lower price than in previous versions. He added that the lower prices encouraged fans to book the tickets, go visit Qatar and experience the World Cup. He also praised the high-level of infrastructure the State of Qatar has built to host the event.
He described Qatar's intention to completely dismantle one of the World Cup stadiums and parts of other stadiums and donate them to developing countries after the end of the World Cup as a wonderful idea that deserves praise and appreciation, explaining the importance of Qatar's incorporation of the legacy into the World Cup.
He said that, during his personal experience visiting Qatar, he obtained all the information he needed with ease, and found great cooperation from everyone in Doha. He added that there is a big difference between those who went to Qatar and saw things first hand, and those who relied on means of communication or non-existent sources.
He added that when he visited Qatar, he visited the workers' residences and reviewed all their matters and found that they are in suitable living conditions and provides them with many services, and all issues related to workers have improved since Qatar hosted the World Cup, calling for obtaining information from its reliable sources and not relying on false sources.
The editor-in-chief of Marca said he expects the French team to win the title for the second time in a row, due to the fact that they have many players capable of making the difference, such as Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmann. Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup, which will be held from November 21 and will continue until December 18, for the first time in the Arab world and the Middle East.
For his part, Gaspar Diez Jimenez, Editor-in-Chief of Sports at EUROPRESS Agency, stressed that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be very different, starting with the date of its holding, the technology used during the event, and the good stadiums prepared by Qatar, which are ready to host the event a year before the tournament.
Stadiums and Facilities
Jimenez added, in exclusive interview to Qatar News Agency (QNA), that the World Cup will surprise everyone, because the equipment implemented by the State of Qatar, whether in stadiums, infrastructure and transportation, will make it a wonderful tournament on all standards.
He pointed out that in previous tournaments, work continued in the facilities a week before the tournament, which led to a state of confusion in the world of football. However, Qatar did an amazing job by completing all the equipment a year ago, and this is something new in the world of football.
Regarding the organization of the tournament in the winter for the first time, Jimenez said that at first there was fear of the new date of the tournament in the winter, as well as other concerns about the Coronavirus, but these things have now dissipated, so the dates of all international leagues have been modified to suit the World Cup date.
He pointed out to the lifting of travel restrictions because of Coronavirus, and the fact that fans in Qatar can attend more than one match in one day, which will lead to an important attendance in all matches, unlike previous tournaments, which matches were separated by tens and sometimes hundreds of kilometers from each other.
He valued the FIFA and the State of Qatar decision to offer tickets that are the cheapest over the past editions of the World Cup.
Jimenez attributed the increasing demand for World Cup tickets, which reached more than 23 million tickets, due to the fact that people around the world have restricted their travel movement during the past two years and find the 2022 World Cup in Qatar an opportunity after the pandemic to go out and enjoy the World Cup matches, as the tournament provided them with the opportunity to travel at a low cost and enjoy the good weather, which led to a good turnout for the tournament.
He praised the World Cup draw ceremony, which was held in the State of Qatar a month ago, and the great and impressive capabilities that appeared during that ceremony, noting that the Spaniards are now eager to attend and follow the World Cup and hope that the Spanish team will win the title in Qatar.
He added that he did not visit Qatar, but he had sufficient information about the stadiums and facilities that will host the tournament, as well as the sustainability that the State of Qatar has been keeping in mind since it announced several years ago that the World Cup would be a carbon-neutral tournament, as a commitment to international efforts to combat global warming.
He explained that the World Cup led to better Qatari-Spanish relations, not only at the sports level, but also at all levels. There are Spanish companies that worked on the World Cup equipment, as well as many other steps that indicate the extent of relations between the two countries, foremost of which is the current visit of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Spain.
He described the idea of Qatar to dismantle Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Abboud area after the end of the World Cup and parts of other stadiums in the tournament and donate them to poor countries as wonderful, pointing out that the previous tournaments, which witnessed the inauguration of huge facilities in a number of countries in the world, these facilities remained after the end of the tournaments without full use, but what the State of Qatar proposed to dismantle some of these facilities is an innovative idea that establishes the principle of the legacy that it has proposed since its success in hosting the tournament.
He stressed that the initiative of the State of Qatar to host the Arab Cup last year at the same time as the World Cup, is a very good idea.
The Editor-in-Chief of Sports at EUROPRESS Agency considered that the State of Qatar was able during the recent period to improve the situation of foreign workers at all levels, and approved many legislations that contribute to this.
He expected that the World Cup will put Qatar on the world tourism map, noting that those who will attend the tournament will return to their countries as tourism ambassadors for the State of Qatar, which will lead to great popularity for the tourism sector in Qatar for a long time after the end of the tournament. (QNA)