Qatar unprepared for World Cup air traffic crush, report says
A team of Qatari officials is going to London to explain to officials at the International Civil Aviation Organization that Qatar is unprepared to handle a crush of people trying to get to and from the World Cup, according to a BBC report.
The BBC said the officials, in London this week, are being warned that the Qatari government is so poorly prepared that it cannot cope with the crush.
The decision to send the Qatari team represents a setback for Qatar, which had hoped to take the lead in hosting the football World Cup in 2022.
However, the BBC said, the move is also a sign of Qatar’s increasing isolation. The Qatari official who was chosen to go to London to represent the Qatari government says Qatar has no plans to move the World Cup to an overseas location in the future.
The BBC report said Qatar had no plans to move the World Cup because it lacks the infrastructure and finances to do so.
The World Cup is scheduled to be held on 14 to 27 June in four cities across Russia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and five venues in Saudi Arabia.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are trying to finalize arrangements for the tournament.
This is Qatar’s fifth attempt to host the World Cup. While the nation had been considered as a leading candidate for next year’s World Cup, there were concerns over its state of preparedness.
The Qatari approach to hosting the World Cup was to try to have the best of both worlds.
It would receive financial and diplomatic help to prepare the nation to host the World Cup.
But having the best of the two worlds in one place would be considered a win for Qatar.