Doha, January 08 (QNA) - Qatar will be on a date with an exciting challenge and new experience when hosting the biggest and most significant Asian tournament, AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, with the participation of 24 national teams from Jan. 12 until Feb. 10, 2024.
The challenge will be how to remain at the top of organizing sporting events after reaching the highest levels through organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which constituted a historic testimony for Qatar that was ratified by the FIFA and the world media archive. The new experience lies in dealing with more specific cultures - Asia - with its diversified traditions, by providing a better quality tournament edition, in terms of organization and logistical services, that promotes the tournament's success and immortalizes Qatar's name in athletes' minds.
Around 6,000 volunteers will participate in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 to provide support and services across a wide range of tasks, which include 20 areas of the tournament's operational procedures.
Volunteers constitute a cornerstone in any mega sporting event, in light of their contribution to ensure the success of major tournaments that include big teams with huge fans. The volunteer program represents a milestone that carries a lot of significance for the organizers of any major event.
The tournament organizing committee was keen on diversity in selecting volunteers according to a well-studied program at the level of volunteers who represent 107 nationalities from various world countries, ranging in age from 18 to 72 years.
The State of Qatar had previously organized the 1988 and 2011 editions of the AFC Asian Cup. According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the administrative and technical organization of the two editions was distinguished, even though the number of volunteers varied from the last Asian tournament edition Qatar hosted in 2011, compared to the tournament that will start in few days.
The 2011 edition of the AFC Asian Cup saw the participation of around 1,700 volunteers - citizens and residents - in the organizational works of the tournament who provided distinguished services for the teams, fans, sports figures, and media personnel that reflected the nature of the hospitable Qatari society, adding a new quality trademark for Qatar's organization of sporting events. After the tournament, the volunteers were celebrated in recognition of their active role in its success.
The circumstances seemed different between the two previous tournament editions as all the matches of the 1988 edition, which saw the participation of 12 teams, were held at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium at Al Ahli SC and Suheim bin Hamad Stadium at Qatar SC. The matches of the 2011 edition, which saw the participation of 16 teams, were held at five stadiums, including Khalifa International Stadium, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, and Thani bin Jassim Stadium.
The tournament organizational committee has completed its preparations and readiness for distinguished organizing in the tournament's third edition, hosted in Qatar with the participation of 24 teams, in a new Asian experience that differs in its details from the two previous editions in terms of volunteering, tasks of volunteers, and the roles they play to showcase the honorable image of the Qatari organization.
A large number of volunteers have extensive experience in organizing sporting events to the point of professionalism, which enhances capabilities through their participation in major sporting events and tournaments previously hosted by the State of Qatar, while five percent of them are having their first experience in volunteer work in the upcoming sporting event.
The number of volunteers in major tournaments in Qatar has recorded significant developments, not only in terms of the numbers that have increased and multiplied according to the size and importance of each tournament but also in the level of professionalism that most volunteers in Qatari tournaments have now enjoyed. (MORE)