DOHA: FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his speech at the 72nd Congress here on Thursday praised Qatar for its readiness to deliver the FIFA World Cup in quick time.
“The work that usually takes decades, has been done by Qatar in a few years, and that is a fantastic job,” said Infantino.
FIFA President said that he expects Qatar World Cup 2022 will be the greatest edition ever.
“We welcome everyone in Qatar to enjoy a wonderful and unique experience of the World Cup.. It is an opportunity to learn about the customs and traditions of the Arab world,” said Infantino.
Thursday’s meeting was the first in-person Congress of football’s world governing body since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Qatar may be in small in size, but they have a big heart,” said Infantino, who also announced his intention to run for re-election for a new term in the next Congress.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani in his opening speech at the Congress, said the country was “looking forward to hosting everyone”.
Infantino pointed to “the changes that have happened in this country” as a positive sign towards Qatar being awarded the World Cup.
“The human rights, workers rights, all this wouldn’t have happened without the World Cup being here,” he added.
Hassan Al Thawadi, chief of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, said that labour reforms achieved by Qatar have been historical one and the event would leave “truly transformational social, human, economic and environmental legacies”.
Meanwhile, FIFA Council’s decision to uphold its decision to suspend Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Kenya Football Federations was approved by the Congress.
The respective federations were barred from FIFA due to government interference in the appointment of a committee to run the affairs of the federation.
