Despite coronavirus, Qatar says 2022 World Cup will go on as planned

The Qatari FM said the government is currently consulting with the organizing committee, preparing to alter the designs of the nearly completed stadiums to adhere to health official instruction.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
A computer generated image of Lusail Stadium that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, with seating capacity of 80,000, in Lusail City, north of central Doha, Qatar (photo credit: REUTERS)
A computer generated image of Lusail Stadium that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, with seating capacity of 80,000, in Lusail City, north of central Doha, Qatar
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the fallout that is projected to follow it for years to come, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced that the 2022 World Cup will go on as planned, according to Sky News.
He added that the Qatari government is currently consulting with the organizing committee, preparing to alter the designs of the nearly completed stadiums to adhere to health official instructions aimed at combating the viral spread within the venues.
"We believe that Qatar is working very closely and strongly with different healthcare organizations to make sure to deliver a healthy and safe World Cup and believe that this is part of the cure for the world to be back together in a happy manner," the foreign minister told Sky News. "There is an ongoing exercise with the organizing committee, with different stakeholders, to make sure that all the health and safety standards are applied in all our stadiums, so it's still something ongoing."
"Once it's clear for all of us, I'm sure that we are going to put it out to the public."
Qatar has reported 65,495 cases of the coronavirus, and registered 49 deaths as a direct result of the viral spread since the first cases were identified in China last December.
With the emergence of the novel coronavirus, Qatars hosting bid for the 2022 World Cup seems to be cursed.
In 2015, it was Swiss prosecutors alleged that Qatar illegally won their bid to host the 2022 World Cup through corruption and money laundering.
In 2018, former Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) president Sepp Blatter reaffirmed those suspicions, three years after his dismissal from the position - a dismissal directly related to the Qatar bid.
In March 2019, it was reported by The Sunday Times that Qatar offered a total amount of $880 million to FIFA to host the 2022 World Cup - which again linked back to the suspicions from 2015.
The amount was composed of a $400 million secretly paid to FIFA by Al-Jazeera, the Qatari state-run television channel, for broadcasting rights, out of which $100 million are a bonus for winning the ballot for hosting the competition, and an additional $480 million offered by the state of Qatar, three years after the initial offer.

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With regards to Israel, Qatar's Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for the Qatar World Cup in 2022, stated in an interview with ESPN in December that Israelis will be welcome to attend the coveted soccer event in their country.
"Everyone is welcome," he told ESPN. "We do not mix sport and politics, but we would hope that Palestinians are able to make it too."
In contrast to unrequited fears, Thawadi had stated in 2017 that Israeli fans would be welcome into the country for the 2022 tournament, regardless of the absence of diplomatic ties between the two governments.
While Israelis will be able to attend the games, there has been an emerging conflict between the Qatari administration and the FIFA code of ethics, since there are many laws, practices and views that Qatar participates in, which contrast with FIFA's morality.
According to The Independent, there have been claims that the Qatari workers completing the 2022 World Cup stadium in Doha are actually indentured slaves.
There are also fears that the LGBTQ community will not be allowed into the country or risk facing scrutiny due to the overall view of the conservative nation, as well as human rights violations against the women of their country – including restrictions on female travel. Additionally, the Saudi news agency Al Arabiya states that Qatari men can – and do – apply to Qatari courts in order to prevent their wives from traveling abroad and even around the country.
Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of the London-based Cornerstone Global Associates, claims that current sponsors of the 2022 tournament might be inadvertently promoting ethical values that they themselves to not publicly stand for – big name sponsors such as Coca Cola, Adidas, Hyundai-KIA, Visa, Wanda Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Vivo.
There is a possibility that these companies might pull out as sponsors of the competition in order to maintain their public image. Even though FIFA maintains a strict code of ethics aimed at promoting all around equality, the laws of the host country are questionable in this field.
"We are a conservative people, and we ask visitors to appreciate our culture while at the same time accepting our hospitality," Thawadi told ESPN, speaking about homosexual fans visiting the country – where homosexuality is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
"Open displays of affection are not part of our culture, and we ask that people don't [openly display affection]. We are not saying, 'Don't come and be yourself,' but it's always important to be open-minded and not focus on what's restrictive. You are focusing on the negative," he concluded.
Alon Einhorn contributed to this report.


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