Qatar 2022 an opportunity ‘to alter impressions on the Middle East’
The United Kingdom’s ambassador to Qatar John Wilkes has said that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is a golden opportunity to alter impressions about the Middle East, bridge the cultural gap with the West, and build new bridges to introduce the world to Arab and Islamic culture.
He said in a press conference yesterday that the World Cup is also an appropriate occasion for everyone to see things in Qatar as they are, especially since the country has already made many achievements and implemented numerous reforms in the field of labour and human rights.
Over the past 12 years, Wilkes said, Qatar has made great efforts in preparation for the World Cup and has achieved many reforms, and it is still continuing in these reforms, and there is co-operation between Qatar and the United Kingdom in this field.
In response to a question regarding the campaigns launched by some parties against Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, the envoy said that the international tournament attracted the world’s attention to Qatar, and that some of the counter-campaigns might be attributed to ignorance of reality.
Wilkes called on British and international fans to come to Qatar to see the situation on the ground, and not to prejudge things.
He said that sports, especially football and its associated mega events, are an opportunity to change the way of thinking about a specific country, society or culture, and therefore the World Cup in Qatar will be an important event to change opinions and impressions.
The ambassador hailed the infrastructure and amazing stadiums implemented by Qatar to host the World Cup, adding that the World Cup will leave a legacy not only for Qatar but for the Arab and Islamic world and the entire region.
The UK is enthusiastic for the tournament and wishes Qatar success in organising the World Cup, he said, adding that the World Cup will be an opportunity to promote Qatari and Arab culture, as well as the cultures of the participating countries and fans, and therefore it is an occasion to build bridges and get to know the Middle East more.
Commenting on the relations between the UK and Qatar, the ambassador hailed the existing co-operation in economic, cultural, security and other fields.
Wilkes added that the UK is co-operating with Qatar to make the World Cup a success, and that there is security cooperation to secure the tournament, in addition to tourism co-operation through British companies.
The British embassy in Doha will organise many cultural events on the occasion of the World Cup, including an event over the days of the tournament on the Doha Corniche, where there will be cultural, learning and innovation activities, in addition to a British cultural festival organised by the British Council in Doha from November 21-28.
The ambassador said that he is happy for the participation of England and Wales in the World Cup, adding that they were drawn in a tough group along with Iran and the US, making it difficult to predict which two sides would move to the knockout stage.