Qatar continue planning for summer World Cup

The director of communications and marketing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar says they plan to host the tournament in summer.

Qatar were awarded the rights to host the iconic event, but calls have been made for a winter start due to the soaring temperatures in the Middle Eastern country.

But Nasser Al-Khater said his team would continue to work toward a summer start as planned.

“We are confident of our bid story. We are confident now of our World Cup plans,” he said.

“We know it’s going to be a Middle Eastern celebration of cultures and we know that it’s going to be a unique moment for the history of this country and our region.

“Yes, the temperatures in Qatar can be very warm in the summer, however, it has never stopped people from going about their lives.

“It has never stopped people going out at night, it has never stopped people going to the beaches, it has never stopped people from … going about their jobs and their daily lives.

“It’s something that everybody has lived with in this country and you know that the majority of the people living in this country are non-Qataris, so we have a lot of foreign ex-pats that live here.

“We have a lot of Westerners that live here and they absolutely love it in the summers.”

Al-Khater admitted that ultimately the decision was out of his hands, but said plans for cooling technology in stadiums was already being developed.

“We’ve said this before, this isn’t something that is in our hands,” Al-Khater said.

“We’ve talked about the international football community having to make this decision and if they do make this decision we’ll be happy to oblige.

“It won’t have any affect on us and on our plans. The cooling technology is a legacy that we’re planning to have for the country so we’re going to go ahead with the cooling technology.

“We’ve bid for a summer World Cup and our plans are for a summer World Cup.”

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