QATAR 2022
Qatar 2022: Education City unveiling a key step on path to World Cup, says Al-Thawadi
The secretary general of Qatar 2022’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Hassan Al-Thawadi, spoke on Monday as the Education City Stadium was launched.
Hassan Al-Thawadi, the secretary general of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is responsible for managing the organisation of the World Cup, says the inauguration of the Education City Stadium is a crucial moment, and a major step forwards on the country’s path towards hosting the first ever edition of the tournament to be held in the Middle East and in the Arab world.
Education City launch amid Covid-19 pandemic aims to show "better future awaits us"
Speaking as the stadium was unveiled on Monday, Al-Thawadi said: “As we all battle to beat the coronavirus, the launch of Education City seeks to show the whole world that a better future awaits us. We aim to bring the people of the world together in this stadium and in other stadiums built for the 2022 World Cup; we believe in football’s capacity to bring people together.”
He continued: “We’re all going through a difficult time as we come up against a common enemy in the coronavirus, so we wanted to use the opening of this stadium as an opportunity to express our gratitude to the frontline workers who are fighting to save people’s lives. Our biggest challenge in recent times has been to ensure the health and safety of everybody working on our stadiums, while meeting the obligations of the Committee for Delivery and Legacy to complete all projects on schedule.”
Al-Thawadi added: “I think the scale of what has been achieved over the past 10 years shows our ability to fulfil our obligations and be a success, and I think the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be an opportunity to show the capacity of the event to bring people from around the world together and play its part in the return to a normal way of life, which is what everybody wants.”
He concluded: “The Education City Stadium has a special significance for us in the Committee for Delivery and Legacy, as it goes hand in hand with the pioneering Education City project, which is led by Sheikh Moza bint Nasser, who chairs the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.”
Virtual launch event broadcast on social media
The completion of the Education City Stadium, the third venue ready for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was celebrated with a virtual inauguration event broadcast by the Supreme Committee on its social-media channels.