Qatar not yet considering 48-team Cup

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 a small group of 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 infrastructural facilities for the World Cup 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,” he said.

With Qatar expected to host over a million fans from over the world, Al Khater said accommodation shouldn’t be a problem for visiting fans.

“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 elaborated.

Over the years, Qatar has faced widespread criticism for alleged worker rights violations in preparation of the World Cup.

Al Khater, however, claimed that the organisers are ‘not worried’ by it. “Every World Cup and every mega event has its share of mega-event. We saw that with South Africa, Brazil, we saw that heavily with Russia and we are seeing that with Qatar. I think that’s part of the game.”