Qatar ambassador briefs King on World Cup preparations

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah received a briefing on the 2022 FIFA World Cup from the Qatar ambassador to Malaysia Fahad Mohammed Kafoud.

His Majesty had granted an audience to Fahad at the Istana Negara yesterday.

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said during the one-hour meeting, Fahad briefed His Majesty on Qatar’s preparations for hosting the tournament.

“Al-Sultan Abdullah also accepted from the Qatari ambassador, the presentation of replicas of all eight stadiums that have been built in Qatar for the next World Cup, where each stadium features the unique living concept of the Middle Eastern community in its design and architecture,” he said in a statement.

The stadiums are the 40,000-seat Khalifa International Stadium; Al

Bayt Stadium (60,000 seats); Al Janoub Stadium (40,000); Al Rayyan Stadium (40,000); Education City Stadium (40,000); Ras Abu Aboud Stadium (40,000), Al Thumama Stadium (40,000) and Lusail Stadium (80,000).

Qatar is the first Islamic and Middle Eastern country chosen to host the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place from late November to mid-December 2022.

Ahmad Fadil said during the meeting, His Majesty also expressed his deep interest in football, and said he followed the developments of the sport closely, especially in the Asian region.

Sultan Abdullah was elected to the FIFA Council in 2015, where he served until 2019.

His Majesty has also previously served as the vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), besides being a member of the Asean Football Association (AFF).