By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
November 14 – Hassan Al-Thawadi (pictured), the public face of Qatar’s landslide 2022 World Cup bid victory, has spoken at more sports forums over the past few years than he can possibly name.
What he is not used to is getting a round of applause from the audience.
Perhaps it was inevitable that in his own backyard, the secretary general of the 2022 Supreme Council, who was bid chief executive, would not need to convince any sceptics about Qatar’s credentials.
But when, at the Aspire4Sport conference here, he was asked about political instability in the Middle East and whether Qatar had made contingency plans for disruption at home, he responded typically sharply.
“We’ve seen riots in England, we’ve seen significant issues occur in the EU,” Al-Thawadi said, prompting a prolonged round of clapping.
“The world is changing.
“We have recognised that in our bid…you have to be ready with contingency plans, but in the end tsunamis happen, flooding happens, earthquakes happen, economic turmoil and political turmoil happen.
“Does that mean the world is going to stand still?
“No, it should always continue.”
After Qatar’s Olympic chief was forced to pull out, Al-Thawadi had the relevant morning session all to himself and did not miss a trick.
Qatar, he said, would be prepared to switch the World Cup to winter – that old chestnut – but only if ordered to.
“Currently our plans are to host the World Cup during the summer,” Al-Thawadi said.
“If FIFA, the international football community, ask for Qatar to host the World Cup in the winter then we won’t be fighting the football community.
“As of yet, no such discussions have been put in place.”
Whatever the timing, Al-Thawadi estimates 800,000 foreign fans will visit Qatar during the tournament.
“This World Cup will bridge a gap between East and West,” he said.
Never afraid to reassert Qatar’s vision for the future, Al-Thawadi was perhaps guilty of slightly over-egging things, however, when it came to where Qatar’s top players would be playing their trade in 2022, even though their leading club, Al Sadd, have just won Asia’s equivalent to the Champions League.
“You will see Qatari players in La Liga and the Premier League,” he insisted.
“Also, you will find young players from Europe looking to come to the Middle East to play in our leagues here.”
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