Qatar does not value the 2022 World Cup to be held in its territory next November as an “economic transaction in which one puts something in and then receives something”, but rather constitutes “an investment in the future of the country whose benefits will be given in the years to come.”
This was indicated in a meeting with the Spanish media, among which was Efe, the Minister of Finance of the Arab country, Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, who assured that the multimillion-dollar investments for the celebration of the World Cup have not been expenses “for the Cup”, but “for the country”.
“We are investing in Qatar, not in the Cup. This only helps us speed up certain investments, but we are not doing it for the event, we are doing it for Qatar, for Qatar (…) Everything we did, the train, the stadiums, the infrastructure, that is investing in Qatar’s economy and its benefits will be realized for years to come,” he said.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, from November 21 to December 18, will be the first to be held in an Arab country and the authorities have spent multi-million dollar figures on the construction of up to nine soccer stadiums with capacity for between 40,000 and 80,000 spectators, linked by a network of subways and a vast network of roads.
Without mentioning the costs of the event for Qatar, which exceed tens of billions of dollars, the minister stressed that the “benefits” for the country will not be reaped during the event with the arrival of tourists to the country, but will be seen in “three, five, seven years”.
“This is done to put Qatar on the map, so that we can host similar things in the future that we see in big countries, sports or other events,” he said.
In this sense, Al Kuwari recalled that no World Cup makes “sense” if it is presented as a “transaction”, but that they should be seen “as the value they give to the economy, as the value they give to the Qatar brand, with what that is earned for future events.”
“The Cup is just a month long sporting event, and you can’t build a whole country for a month long event. But there is no doubt that this great event helps all sectors of the economy, construction, logistics, food, hospitality… they all benefit and will continue to benefit even beyond the World Cup”, he concluded.
