Foreign Minister to The Washington Post: The fans’ enjoyment of the World Cup in Qatar is our best reward
December 12, 2022, 09:31 pm
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Translated by Rahaf Hassouna
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the World Cup currently being held in Qatar as the most comprehensive tournament.
In an interview with the Washington Post, the Foreign Minister said that many media outlets were trying to judge Qatar not based on facts or after verifying facts, and their positions were negative and disappointing.
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The minister emphasized that the Qatar World Cup 2022 is the most inclusive and there are many people from different countries and from different backgrounds enjoying the atmosphere in Qatar. Stressing that the unique nature of the tournament enabled the fans to attend four matches in one day, which made the World Cup available to many people who had not previously imagined that they could attend the World Cup.
The Foreign Minister said: “The best reward for us in Qatar is the way the fans enjoyed this tournament, and their positive experience in spending time, hospitality and kindness of the people of Qatar. We want to show that the Middle East and Arab countries are not only a place of conflicts, but football can be celebrated and enjoyed.” ”
Regarding the reality of workers, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani replied: We never claim that our country is perfect, nor did we claim that conditions for migrant workers are ideal. He added: Qatar has implemented labor reforms over the past 12 years, and eight years ago independent lawyers were brought in to see They monitored the workers’ situation and identified weaknesses in the legislation, and the government dealt with the reports seriously. Qatar has opened its doors to non-governmental organizations, and no other country in the region has adopted an open-door policy as Qatar did.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the critics pointed the finger of accusations and criticism at the government and not the companies, and this is unlike what is happening in Europe, where the blame in the event of exploitation of migrant labor in Europe falls on the companies and not the government.
As for the numbers of deaths of workers in World Cup facilities, the Foreign Minister said that Qatar publishes death rates every year according to nationality and not jobs, stressing that the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy published deaths during the World Cup period, which are three cases, and this statistic was repeated many times before, but Critics don’t want to hear from the other side.
On the situation of homosexuals in the World Cup, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said: “We have said time and time again that we welcome everyone, and we asked the masses to enjoy football and our culture and respect the laws, and this is something that is expected of Qataris when they travel to other countries,” emphasizing in his response To a question about the arrest of some gay flag bearers in the stadiums, that what happens in the stadium is the responsibility of FIFA and its rules, and what happens outside it is the responsibility of Qatar.
Regarding the legacy that the World Cup will leave for Qatar and the region, the Foreign Minister replied that the World Cup is just the beginning and not the end of the story, pointing out that what was presented during the World Cup is historic and will contribute to changing the perception of many around the world about the region.
He added that the infrastructure that Qatar has accomplished is part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, as the World Cup helped accelerate the pace of achievement.
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his pride that Qatar during the World Cup was able to bring the Arabs back together. He described it as: “This is the beauty and magic of the ball itself, and its ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, Arabs and non-Arabs, in one place.”
The foreign minister said that the way fans of different nationalities merged with each other was very remarkable, and these scenes had not been seen before.
