Qatar not yet planning 48-team Cup
MOSCOW: FIFA president Gianni Infantino may insist on having a 48-team World Cup at the next edition in Qatar in 2022 but the host nation will continue to plan for a 32-team event until a feasibility study by the world governing body is completed.
“There is a feasibility study that’s going to be done. There is a process of consultation. I am very glad FIFA said that the final decision stays with Qatar. We don’t want to take any decision now. We don’t understand what the format of a 48-team World Cup could look like. Until we get that feasibility study and that consultation process (is completed), we need to wait and see,” Nasser Al Khater, assistant secretary general of the organising committee, said in an interaction with reporters at the Gorky Park here.
Asked about the possibility of co-hosting the tournament in case a 48-team event does take place, he replied, “We have been planning for a 32-team World Cup in Qatar and that’s as far as our plans go. As far as co-hosting is concerned, that is a question to possible co-hosts. They have got four years left.”
The senior official claimed that Qatar would complete all infrastructure by 2020. “We have completed one stadium. We will complete two more by the end of this year. By the end of 2019, we are looking to complete two more stadiums and we will complete the rest by 2020.
“By 2020, we would have completed the road infrastructure. The metro will start testing by end of 2018, more lines will be added in 2019 and it will be fully functional by 2020. Training sites will also be completed by 2020. So we have two years of a buffer period to test all our facilities.”
With Qatar expected to host over a million fans, Al Khater said accommodation shouldn’t be a problem . “We are looking at hotels of different classes, inventory of furnished apartments that people rent in Qatar on short-term basis, temporary solutions such as the floating hotels – the cruise ships, and we are taking a look at different and varied fan villages,” he said.
Qatar has faced criticism for alleged worker rights violations in preparation of the World Cup. “Every World Cup and every mega event has its share of issues. We saw that with South Africa, Brazil, Russia and now Qatar. That’s part of the game.”