FIFA President hails Qatar 2022 as best ever World Cup
Doha, The Gulf Observer: As defending champions France and Argentina prepare for tomorrow’s final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has hailed the World Cup in Qatar as the best ever edition of the global tournament.
“For me the World Cup has been a real incredible success on all fronts. The main one bringing people together, meeting the Arab world, is very important for the future of all of us. But also when it comes to the matches. It has been the best World Cup ever,” Infantino told a press conference at the Qatar National Convention Centre yesterday.
Infantino also highlighted the “joyful atmosphere”at Qatar 2022 that saw packed stadiums.
“We had 3.27 million spectators. We played 62 matches without incidents, with a very joyful atmosphere. Two matches to go. I say to everyone (involved in the tournament) who is receiving praise — focus until the end,” he said, noting that the FIFA Council also heaped praise unanimously.
Infantino said the decision to host the Qatar World Cup midway through the European football calendar rather than at the end of “an exhausting season” has resulted in performances of higher-quality.
“Playing in November and December has had an impact. We have seen it with the quality of the games,” Infantino said.
The tournament has provided maximum entertainment to fans on and off the pitch, including a number of upsets in the group stage and pre-quarterfinals — No.2 ranked Belgium, Germany Spain crashing out while favourites Brazil and Portugal failing to get past the quarter-finals.
Off the field, fans have had the opportunity to enjoy one of the most peaceful and incident-free tournaments while experiencing the Arab culture and World Cup atmosphere at a number of locations across Qatar. Infantino also highlighted the fact that football is not an appropriate stage for political statements.
“Everyone has their own problems. Fans just want to spend 90 minutes without having to think of anything else, a little moment of pleasure, or emotion,” Infantino said.
“We are defending values, we are defending human rights, the rights of everyone at the World Cup. But I also believe those fans who come to the stadium and the billions of fans watching on TV want to spend 90 minutes without having to think about anything else, forget their problems and enjoy football,” the FIFA President said.
Infantino said FIFA had recorded a rise of $1bn – taking the total to $7.5bn in revenue, compared to previous four-year-cycle ended in 2018, and added that the revenues are expected to reach $11bn for the four-year period between 2022 and 2026. “This 11 billion figure is without the Club World Cup in 2025. At the end of the four years we will make even more revenues,” he said.
The FIFA chief also said that the format of the next World Cup which is to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico will be re-discussed.
Infantino stressed that the impressive success of the group stage in Qatar, in which the fans held their nerves until the very last moments, made FIFA reconsider the Group stage division during the World Cup 2026, which will include 48 national teams for the first time.
Infantino also revealed that FIFA’s plans to expand the number of competing teams at the Club World Cup will only come into effect from 2025.
Morocco, who enjoyed a mesmerizing run at the Qatar 2022 by becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four at a FIFA World Cup, will host the next Club World Cup in February 2023.
“We had agreed a few years ago to have a new 24-team men’s Club World Cup. It should have taken place in 2021 but was postponed because of COVID. The new competition will take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams, making it really like a World Cup,” Infantino said.
