Qatar on top of World Cup concerns, insists Samoura

FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura is confident Qatar have concerns over their suitability to deliver the 2022 World Cup firmly under control.

The build-up to the tournament was placed under further scrutiny last month when organisers confirmed that one person had died in a “work-related fatality” at the construction site of the new stadium in Al Wakrah.

Uneasiness surrounds the decision to award Qatar the rights to host the finals, with human rights campaigners voicing fears over the welfare of workers, while allegations of corruption relating to the voting process have blighted the tournament’s reputation.

But Samoura, who led a FIFA delegation to Qatar this week, says the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SCDL) are on track to deliver “the best World Cup ever”.

“We’ve seen that the Qataris are on top of the issues,” she told the Committee’s official website. “Construction is going well, with a special focus on the safety and security of all the workers.

“We have also witnessed the compact nature of this World Cup, which will allow fans to attend more than one match in one day. This gives another perspective to the way a World Cup is organised compared to Russia or South Africa or even Brazil.

“I think the level of commitment of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, and the level of enthusiasm I have been witnessing since my arrival from the Local Organising Committee, just tells us that the choice of Qatar to host this World Cup was a good one, and it will be a well-attended World Cup

“I can see that planning is done ahead of time, which is a strong sign of the commitment of the Qatari people to deliver the best World Cup ever.

“This only means that the world of football is opening to diversity and is really embracing the globalised nature of football. We should be giving more opportunities to regions like the Middle East to demonstrate that they can also be nations of football, and also show the rest of the world that football is bringing people from different cultures and religious backgrounds together.”