“ World Cup in Qatar has been the best ever”

—FIFA President Infantino

The state-of-the-art Metro, the new hotels that have come up in the last few years, the stunning roadworks spread around Qatar, the expansion of the Hamad International Airport and the completion of the eight World Cup venues, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has seen it all. The Swiss-Italian had nothing but praise for World Cup hosts Qatar

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, has spent more than six weeks in Qatar spread over November and December, meeting with foreign and domestic press and watching World Cup matches in person. In between he was also seen playing football with past legends of the sport. Prior to engaging with international and host media on November 19, 2022 — when he spoke for more than an hour and a half detailing how Qatar prepared to host a memorable World Cup — Infantino was a frequent visitor to Doha to see first-hand the massive development projects undertaken by Qatar.

The development works reported at a staggering $220 billion started soon after Qatar won the World Cup bid race in December 2010 but the real acceleration came after 2015. Since assuming power as FIFA President the same year, Infantino has been present in person to witness the inauguration of World Cup venues like the Khalifa International Stadium in 2017, Al Janoub Stadium, in 2019 and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and Al Thumama Stadium both in 2021. He was also present at the two editions of FIFA Club World Cup held in Qatar (2018 and 2019) where he also championed the hosting of the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup, a preparatory event staged last year across the venues used at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Leading the show from the front, the FIFA boss has himself seen the gigantic efforts made by Qatar to put together 'the best ever World Cup'.

"Football really unites the world. Football has this magic, this special feature that when the ball rolls, people come together. They come in a joyful atmosphere. I have to admit that before the World Cup, we were worried about having so many fans from so many countries, at the same time, in the same place. This does not happen in a normal World Cup," Infantino said. "In a normal World Cup, you have in one city, fans of two countries, not more. Here, you had 32 countries plus all (the) other fans from the world who came to enjoy the World Cup together in the same place. I was saying this some years that I really believed that this World Cup could contribute, on one side for this part of the world, for the Gulf, for Qatar, for the Middle East, to showcase itself, to show to the world how hospitable (it is) and what a rich culture they have. But also for the rest of the world to come here and to witness the hospitality, to witness a new culture, to (get to) know each other better, and that’s exactly what’s happened," he added.

"This blend of cultures which happens in a World Cup is something which is truly, truly unique. And everyone who was here, but also those who were watching from home and could feel this atmosphere, realised that something really special was going on at this World Cup," he said.

“I have seen all the matches, indeed, and put very simply and very clearly, this has been the best World Cup ever. So it’s very promising for the future World Cup editions. The matches have been of great, great quality in beautiful stadiums - we knew that already," Infantino said. "The fan attendance was incredible. Recordbreaking figures on TV which is really incredible. Two and a half million people in the streets of Doha and a few hundred thousand every day in the stadiums, all together, cheering together, supporting their teams, fantastic atmosphere, great goals, incredible excitement, surprises, small teams beating big teams," he added.

"Well, there are no more small teams and no more big teams. The playing level was very, very equal. For the first time as well, national teams from all continents going to the knock-out phase, for the first time in history, was interesting. This showed that football has really become truly global. Well, of course, the World Cup concluded as it had started — as a fantastic success. When it comes to stadium attendances, the stadiums were soldout, full practically at every match. The fan festivals, the different fan zones, were also very crowded with people celebrating and enjoying (themselves). And at the end (of the day), we (FIFA) simply wanted to give some joy and some smiles to people all over the world.

"That’s what football is about, that’s what the World Cup is about, and that’s what happened until the end. We saw great action on the field, which, finally, is the most important part of what you do, some of the biggest stars performing very well… but the memories of, I don’t know, the Mexican fans or the American fans or the Saudi fans. Not to (forget) about Argentina, Brazil, the Iranians, everyone. The Moroccans, who were really cheering (on) their team, the Tunisians… I mean, I can just name…

The Senegalese… I could name them all, probably.

"We saw a fantastic conclusion of this World Cup," Infantino concluded. n