Qatar is on the right path to emulate South Africa and host a successful FIFA World Cup in 2022. This was expressed by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe during separate meetings she held with the Deputy Minister of Business and Trade in Qatar, Mr Sultan Bin Rahid Al Khater, and the Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Local Organising Committee, Mr Hassan Al-Thawadi, in Doha, Qatar today. Deputy Minister Thabethe is in Qatar with 32 South African companies that are participating in the World Cup Legacy Exhibition that started yesterday and will end tomorrow.
“I have no doubt that Qatar will host a successful World Cup in 2022. My optimism and confidence stem from the impressive infrastructure development that is already taking place in Qatar, as well as the enthusiasm and excitement that are already displayed by the people of Qatar,” said Thabethe.
She added that the fact that the Qatari were keen to learn from the South African experience will stand them in good stead. This is due to the fact that South Africa overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges and hosted a World Cup that people all over the world still reminisce about.
“The 2010 World Cup brought our nation together, proved many sceptics wrong, and changed the negative perceptions that people in different parts of the world had about South Africa in particular, and Africa in general. It boosted our tourism sector as many of the soccer fans who ‘dared’ to come to South Africa returned with their families as tourists because all the myths they had before the tournament were dispelled,” said Thabethe.
During both her meetings, she emphasised the importance of bringing everybody on board as Qatar prepares to host the event, particularly the establishment of private-public partnerships, as well as the society in general.
Both Deputy Minister Al Khater and Mr Al-Thawadi said Qatar was keen to learn from the South African experience of hosting the World Cup in 2010.
“Qatar will definitely tap into the experiences of South Africans to ensure that 2022 is a resounding success. Our government is impressed that South Africa is hosting the World Cup Legacy Exhibition here. Our countries will benefit from businesspeople sharing experience and finding ways of working together. We have good relationships and these kinds of interactions will boost trade between our countries beyond the World Cup,” said Deputy Minister Al Khater.
Al-Thawadi enthused that after learning from South Africa, Qatar would improve and host a better World Cup than South Africa.
“One of the things we would like to take from the South African experience is the ability to turn the World Cup into an African World Cup. We also want to make it a Middle East and Asian World Cup and other countries in the region to embrace it. We will also take lessons from South Africa on quite a number of other issues related to the tournament. These include security and the integration of private business, particularly the SMME sector. But above all, the hospitality that South Africa showed to the rest of the world during the tournament is one thing we would like to emulate,” added Al-Thawadi.
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