Experts and specialists confirmed that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 left a sustainable legacy for Qatar and the Arab countries, created a remarkable regional activity that contributed to attracting major projects to it, and strengthened its communication with the world.
At the symposium held by the Green Tent's "A Flower Every Spring" program, under the title "Lessons Learned from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Regionally and Globally," the speakers pointed out that the World Cup confronted the idea of Western hegemony over major events after Qatar was chosen to organize it. This victory gave hope to other countries to organize similar events after they saw the Qatari capabilities and the great success in organizing it despite its small geographical area.
Qatar was able to rethink sports and build a new sports system based on science, as many researches and academic programs appeared in its universities specializing in sports fields. It also broke the "taboos" entrenched in the minds of the world regarding the monopolization of this tournament by the West, introduced ethical, value, and social values through various initiatives, and launched awards to combat corruption in all its forms, they added.
In preparation for the tournament, the state made direct investments in sports by developing its facilities and various sports-related elements, which increased the overall sports knowledge.
The symposium's speakers also discussed the reasons for the success of the World Cup in Qatar and its selection in 2010 from among major countries, highlighted Qatari patience and hard work since that date for more than 12 years, its careful planning, effective implementation, and visualization of all the minute details of the various events with an emphasis on the national and Islamic identity. They stressed that "clash of civilizations" is a wrong expression, rather a coexistence of all religions, cultures, and races in one place that respects Arab traditions is what contributed to changing the stereotype about Arabs and Muslims.
The sports sector in Qatar has gained seven new and advanced stadiums and dozens of training sites, which the children and youth will benefit from, they noted.
Regarding the role of volunteering in the success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the speakers noted that the tournament has achieved a civilizational shift in all fields. Qatar has achieved great success in organizing an exceptional edition that was witnessed by everyone, especially as it focused on sustainability, applying the new social, human, economic, and environmental development standards, and worked to establish a sustainable legacy, including the voluntary legacy, which had a prominent role in the success of the World Cup, with the effective efforts made by volunteers.
Since the Supreme Committee's announcement of the volunteering program in September 2018, it has attracted the attention and interest of football fans from all over the world. The volunteer registration portal received nearly 60,000 requests, out of which 28,000 volunteers belonging to 160 nationalities were selected. The 5,000 international volunteers received various training and qualification courses to deal with and communicate with the masses and security and safety measures, and were involved in the 2021 Arab Cup, Club World Cup in 2019, and the Amir's Cup. Volunteers participated in all World Cup operations and provided support in 45 aspects in official and unofficial sites of the tournament.
In this regard, the Head of A Flower Each Spring program Dr. Saif bin Ali Al Hajri stressed the importance of raising this issue for discussion in the Green Tent, especially since the State of Qatar is the first in the Arab, Islamic, and Middle Eastern countries to receive this honor and has made it a historical and distinguished tournament in all its aspects, underscoring the reasons behind the success of this tournament such as social values, and the opportunities resulting from the tournament on the global sports scene.
He explained that the infrastructure was a fundamental factor in the success of the event, as well as bringing communities closer and integrating different cultures, races, and customs, which encouraged dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between peoples, and transformed Qatar into a tourist destination, a media and cultural center, and paved the way for the development of industries related to huge sporting events such as the hospitality, food and beverage, and travel sectors, which will in return greatly enhance the local economy.
Source: Qatar News Agency