Doha: Qatar’s preparations for the World Cup are receiving more admiration every day from around the world, amid expectations of all sports and official communities that this edition will be exceptional and unparalleled.
Athletes, critics, journalists, media and politicians alike agreed that Qatar was ahead of all previous organizers of the World Cup in planning and preparing for the grand event, and prepared a solid plan to produce a unique edition, with innovation, professionalism and high ability to organize, criticizing voices trying to diminish Qatar’s eligibility to host the World Cup, and malicious rumours targeting the tournament only because it will be held for the first time on Arab and Middle Eastern soil.
In this context, Jordanian writer Dr. Abdul Mahdi Al Qatameen, in an article on the Jordanian news website ‘Alsaa’, about Qatar and the World Cup, and the organized attacks against it, said that Qatar was able to win the bet with indomitable determination, and responded to the challenge of the World Cup, to be at its best, and this is not strange; because when the will meets with management, they can achieve the impossible, and the scale of Qatar's response was great, and a visitor to Qatar can witness the legendary efforts and huge resources spent to receive the grand event, which may not be repeated in the Arab world again in the coming decades.
He pointed out that Qatar, since its choice to host the World Cup, has turned into a beehive of continuous hard work that has lasted for everything, and is ready to receive the fans of the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup, and has prepared for this a developed infrastructure and unparalleled facilities, concluding his article by praising Qatar for these efforts, making the World Cup Symphony at a steady pace, and what is raised here or there will remain a kind of negative charge that cannot change the fact that an Arab country organized the World Cup and proved that Arabs can make a difference.
For its part, Argentine TV ‘America TV’ broadcast a report on demolishing popular ideas about Qatar before the World Cup, interviewing a number of residents of Qatar, most of whom have Spanish citizenship, and talked to them about their experience and assessment of the standard of life in Qatar.
During the report, a Spanish citizen said that he came to Qatar three months ago to work, he thought that life here is limited only to work without a place to go out and have fun, but in fact, he goes out and enjoys his life more than he does in Madrid, as he expressed, life here is better than anywhere else, and security is fully established in this country, people can go anywhere at any time without being intercepted or assaulted by anyone, as is the case in many countries; he concluded by inviting everyone to come to visit Qatar.
Another Spanish citizen from Barcelona who works in Doha also praised the standard of living in the Qatari capital for women and how safe it is, saying that she was very afraid when she came to Qatar, but was surprised by the level of freedom that women enjoy here, explaining that she has not been harassed or obstructed by anyone, expressing a great level of security, clarifying that she can go out at night on the street in every comfort without the fear of attack from anyone, life is happy in Qatar, as she commented, intending to stay for several years.
For his part, Uruguayan engineer Fernando Sima, who worked on the construction of a number of stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, said that Qatar has introduced many reforms to its labour laws and that the situation in the country is very different from the reports published by some international media with the intention of distorting.
He added, in an interview with Uruguayan TV ‘Canal 5’ that before he came to Qatar, he had a bad idea about the working conditions here because of international press reports, but he was greatly surprised when discovering that the reality is completely different from the rumors and publications in the media, "based on perception or prejudice", as he described.
For her part, Uruguayan citizen Natalia Gatti, an English teacher in Qatar, said that her experience in Qatar was much better than she expected, speaking to the same television, she added that she found herself enjoying more freedom, expressing that she never even felt disrespected in this country.
In turn, the Russian ‘Sputnik News’ agency prepared a report on Qatar's preparations for the World Cup, underlining the highly sophisticated equipment and exceptional services done for the international audiences, which will enable visitors to get acquainted with Arab culture.
In addition, the French TV ‘Euro News’ praised the preparations of the State of Qatar, as the countdown started for the biggest first Arab-based World Cup, saying that the State of Qatar, which expects the arrival of more than a million fans to attend the World Cup events, is working to welcome the fans in a special way, by opening a special exhibition of football in its new Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum 3-2-1, and turning the streets of Doha into an open museum displaying artistic sculptures reflecting the culture and spirit of the country.
The report, included in the ‘Qatar 365’ programme, added that the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum 3-2-1 special exhibition entitled "World of Football", was divided into two parts or "two halves", in addition to a third wing of the exhibition called ‘Extra Time’, pointing out that the first part of the exhibition is interested in football and its popularity around the world, the history of the game, its origin, its laws and old players, in addition to displaying stories and collectibles of a number of the greatest players in the history of football, including some of their shirts and balls, while the second part or ‘second half’ of the exhibition highlights the history of Qatar's sports, and goes back on its path since its choice to host the World Cup under the name ‘Road to Doha’.
The report pointed out that there are not many places in the world where art is available to everyone, but Qatar is trying to change this before the World Cup, where the country has redoubled its efforts by displaying art pieces outdoors near attractions such as airports, stadiums and main streets, from the first moment visitors arrive at Hamad International Airport they can notice a number of works scattered inside and outside the airport, such as a sculpture of a falcon by artist Tom Klassen, and among the pieces you can come across at the Qatar National Museum is a painting "On Their Way" by French artist Roch Vandromme, which depicts four camels reflecting the life of the ancient nomads, as can be seen in the piece "Gates to the Sea" by Simone Fattal, which is rock pieces with inscriptions of boats and fish reflecting the Qataris' close relationship with the sea. (QNA)
