CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ‘countdown clock’, powered by Hublot, was unveiled at Doha Corniche on Sunday, marking one year to go to the big kick-off, amid spectacular show on display.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani attended the unveiling ceremony of the countdown clock, which was organized by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in cooperation with FIFA. The ceremony also included displays of drones and digital fireworks to celebrate the global sporting event.
The ‘One Year To Go’ event, which started at 8:30 pm (Qatar time), was attended by Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and many high profile dignitaries and football legends.
Titled, ‘Join the Beat’, football fans from all over the world joined the jubilation to celebrate the great milestone which was streamed live on YouTube.com/FIFATV and Qatar2022.qa.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will kick off on November 21, 2022, with the tournament’s first match to be held at the incredible 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor City.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, "It will be the best World Cup ever and it will be a unique World Cup for many reasons. It will be the best ever because the preparations are complete in advance -- everything is kind of ready. I have never seen something like here. The stadiums are beautiful, they are ready and of course there is some work to do and tonight is one year to go, so we started feeling the adrenaline for that but it will be unique.”
The FIFA chief said, "And to have such a compact World Cup, all the stadiums are within 50 km, this is unique. Fans from all over the world that will come here to Qatar will be all together -- not only the fans of two teams in the city but fans of 32 teams in one country -- all together to celebrate football, to celebrate humanity.”
Talking about human rights, Infantino said this was an important topic and they should always realise that progress has been done.
"We have to recognise that more can be done but a lot has been done. In a few years, progress that usually takes decades in other countries has been made here. We believe in the power of football to bring positive change and we need to encourage this change. We can encourage this change by recognizing that the change has happened and is happening, the more has to happen and we are working all together for this to happen.”
He said everyone in the world is welcome to come and celebrate in Qatar.
"Qatar and the World Cup will be about inclusion and that’s what FIFA is about as well. FIFA is an association of 211 member countries and no one is the same. We need to respect the fact that there are differences. We need to try and bring positive change. Positive change happens only if you engage with everyone. There is no place for discrimination in football, our world, but we need to have a positive attitude to make these changes happen,” he pointed out.
The FIFA applauded Qatar for the fact that all the eight stadiums are ready one year ahead.
"I am very happy that in one year, the World Cup will be in an Arab country for the first time because we often say that football unites and it’s true. And this time, even more or so, the world will discover a country and a whole region, Gulf region, Middle East and Arab world which is sometimes faced with prejudice. I am convinced that after this world cup, all this prejudice will go away and the world will discover a welcoming place, a welcoming country where you can celebrate and enjoy where people meet and come together. This is what football is all about.”
Fatma Al Nuaimi, Communications Executive Director at Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: "Today we are revealing the countdown clock which is in partnership between the Supreme Committee and FIFA. Having this clock in Corniche in the heart of Doha, having it visible to everyone, it is an opportunity for us to be sharing this excitement that we have with the public as we get closer to the tournament. The SC started their journey in 2010 and today -- after 11 years -- is a big moment. It’s been a long journey and there are a lot of developments that have happened.”
Qatar’s FIFA World Cup next year promises a festival of football like no other for it will feature a fun-filled fan zone and several hospitality and tourism offerings. The country will also host the most compact version of the tournament in modern history for all the 8 stadiums are within 50km of central Doha. The final match will take place at the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022 – which is also Qatar National Day.
DOHA
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ‘countdown clock’, powered by Hublot, was unveiled at Doha Corniche on Sunday, marking one year to go to the big kick-off, amid spectacular show on display.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani attended the unveiling ceremony of the countdown clock, which was organized by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in cooperation with FIFA. The ceremony also included displays of drones and digital fireworks to celebrate the global sporting event.
The ‘One Year To Go’ event, which started at 8:30 pm (Qatar time), was attended by Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and many high profile dignitaries and football legends.
Titled, ‘Join the Beat’, football fans from all over the world joined the jubilation to celebrate the great milestone which was streamed live on YouTube.com/FIFATV and Qatar2022.qa.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will kick off on November 21, 2022, with the tournament’s first match to be held at the incredible 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor City.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, "It will be the best World Cup ever and it will be a unique World Cup for many reasons. It will be the best ever because the preparations are complete in advance -- everything is kind of ready. I have never seen something like here. The stadiums are beautiful, they are ready and of course there is some work to do and tonight is one year to go, so we started feeling the adrenaline for that but it will be unique.”
The FIFA chief said, "And to have such a compact World Cup, all the stadiums are within 50 km, this is unique. Fans from all over the world that will come here to Qatar will be all together -- not only the fans of two teams in the city but fans of 32 teams in one country -- all together to celebrate football, to celebrate humanity.”
Talking about human rights, Infantino said this was an important topic and they should always realise that progress has been done.
"We have to recognise that more can be done but a lot has been done. In a few years, progress that usually takes decades in other countries has been made here. We believe in the power of football to bring positive change and we need to encourage this change. We can encourage this change by recognizing that the change has happened and is happening, the more has to happen and we are working all together for this to happen.”
He said everyone in the world is welcome to come and celebrate in Qatar.
"Qatar and the World Cup will be about inclusion and that’s what FIFA is about as well. FIFA is an association of 211 member countries and no one is the same. We need to respect the fact that there are differences. We need to try and bring positive change. Positive change happens only if you engage with everyone. There is no place for discrimination in football, our world, but we need to have a positive attitude to make these changes happen,” he pointed out.
The FIFA applauded Qatar for the fact that all the eight stadiums are ready one year ahead.
"I am very happy that in one year, the World Cup will be in an Arab country for the first time because we often say that football unites and it’s true. And this time, even more or so, the world will discover a country and a whole region, Gulf region, Middle East and Arab world which is sometimes faced with prejudice. I am convinced that after this world cup, all this prejudice will go away and the world will discover a welcoming place, a welcoming country where you can celebrate and enjoy where people meet and come together. This is what football is all about.”
Fatma Al Nuaimi, Communications Executive Director at Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: "Today we are revealing the countdown clock which is in partnership between the Supreme Committee and FIFA. Having this clock in Corniche in the heart of Doha, having it visible to everyone, it is an opportunity for us to be sharing this excitement that we have with the public as we get closer to the tournament. The SC started their journey in 2010 and today -- after 11 years -- is a big moment. It’s been a long journey and there are a lot of developments that have happened.”
Qatar’s FIFA World Cup next year promises a festival of football like no other for it will feature a fun-filled fan zone and several hospitality and tourism offerings. The country will also host the most compact version of the tournament in modern history for all the 8 stadiums are within 50km of central Doha. The final match will take place at the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022 – which is also Qatar National Day.