Qatar has taken extra efforts to organise World Cup: Wales First Minister
Qatar has taken intense extra efforts to make the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 a great event, noted the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the launch of a giant bucket hat installation in Doha yesterday to kick start the opening of the Wales World Cup campaign. “It is the most extra ordinary effort any country has made to host a tournament of this global significance. As you drive through the city it is fantastic to see the Walsh flag flying, alongside the other 31 countries and to see the enormous efforts that have gone into to prepare a tournament of this scale and significance,” said Drakeford. According to the First Minister, this is one of the very special opportunities for Wales to play on the world stage. He continued: “We are a very small nation with just 3mn people. It will be a great game against a huge country like the US. I take pride at being here, because of the recognition it brings.” “We have a saying in Wales about football which is ‘dare to dream.’ You have to dream to get to a World Country final if you are a small country. The wonderful thing about sport is that once you are here, on your day, any team in this tournament can beat any other team. So you have to go in to the tournament to enjoy it, to be glad to be part of it. If it is your day, you could win any game and you could go beyond the first week and deeper in to the tournament,” he explained.
The First Minister said that the Welsh delegation is looking forward to more collaborations with Qatar in several fields. “We are here because of the World Cup and because of the Wales team. The meeting I will have with many officials will be about business and investment opportunities and I am spending quite a bit of time on cultural relationships,” he said. He pointed out that the representatives of the National Museum of Wales are part of the delegation and will be visiting the museums in Qatar. “I hope to invite some young educators and curators in the museums here to visit Wales next year. So there are many things that we look beyond the tournament itself,” he highlighted.
“We have a very particular focus on our young people. Wales is a country with its own language – we speak English today but thousands and thousands people in Wales would speak the Welsh and describe its history, language, culture, identity and all of those things. We are looking for cultural exchange too. There are young people from Wales here with us – a choir of young people,” he added.
The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, yesterday officially launched the World Cup campaign of his country in Qatar by showcasing a giant bucket hat installation near the Museum of Islamic Art.
This is an important and momentous occasion for Wales as the country is qualifying for the World Cup final round after 64 years since its last appearance in1958.
British ambassador Jonathan Wilks, Wales’ ‘Lleisiau Cymru’ ambassador, Colin Jackson, alongside Football Association of Wales (FAW) president Steve Williams, vice-president Will Lloyd Williams, CEO Noel Mooney and ambassadors Ian Rush and Jess Fishlock were also in attendance at the launch.
The larger-than-life bucket hat, an iconic symbol for Welsh football representing the team’s incredible progress in the game and its fans’ passion and spirit, was developed and designed in collaboration with the Football Association of Wales, to celebrate the momentous occasion for the nation.
Drakeford said: “Back in 2016, our manager Chris Coleman challenged the squad and us as a nation to ‘Dare to Dream’ about what could happen at the European Championship. No one thought we’d get to the semi-final, but we did. That’s what’s great about football – anything can happen at the World Cup.”
The launch of the installation kickstarts the Gyl Cymru Festival at the tournament, a programme of more than 200 events across Cymru and the world as part of a 10day celebration of creativity to support Wales during the team’s campaign in Qatar.
The programme will project Wales’ values and secure a positive legacy from the country’s first World Cup campaign in 64 years, highlighting the nation’s art, culture and music.
Wales’ ‘Lleisiau Cymru’ ambassador Jackson said: “It was really good to be at the launch of the bucket hat today – it’s a little slice of Wales that will encourage people to investigate our nation. The support of our First Minister today was also fantastic as we aim to demonstrate
the inclusive values of Wales.”
Fishlock noted that it was a very proud moment to be at the launch of the Bucket hat. “Now is the time that the world gets to see our great nation, and we get to show who we are to the world,” he added.
A Wales Cultural Programme in Doha, which coincides with the Gwyl Cymru festival of culture taking place in Wales and around the world, features cultural events at the UK ambassador’s residence; Katara Cultural Village, and the UK Garden on The Corniche.