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2022 hosts considering their own version of FIFA Fan ID

IKOLI VICTOR
Doha
Hassan al Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy has reiterated the nation's commitment to hosting the 2022 World Cup that will benefit the entire region despite the ongoing political blockade against the host nation by some GCC countries.
Thawadi was speaking during 'FT Live: Future of Football 2018'conference in Doha. He took part in a panel session alongside Alexey Sorokin, Chief Executive Officer of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee.
"The one impact of the blockade, which is emotional, is that the World Cup has always been for the Middle East and the Arab world. To think there are people in the region who might not enjoy the first World Cup of the Middle East is very disappointing. We look forward to this matter getting sorted out. Football is for the people and we want this tournament to reach all people of the region."
Thawadi added that the blockade has not hampered preparations for the tournament that will be played in the winter of 2022.
"The blockade has not hindered our preparations, however, we had to work very hard and diligently to find exigency plans to execute previous plans. We had to find alternative suppliers ensuring that we are able to secure materials that were originally sourced from the blockading nations.
"Prior to the blockade, Qatar's commitment was always to originally integrate the society and we contributed to this in many different ways one of which was looking at securing sources, services, and materials from the blockading nations. But when the blockade happened we looked at alternative sources and some of the sources were cheaper and had more quality. It actually opened the door for more options and to some extent reduced the obligation we brought upon ourselves to look towards our neighboring countries for suppliers. At first, there was an increase in cost that normalised and since then projects are still on track."
Speaking on the recent World Cup in Russia, which was a source of inspiration for Qatar, Al Thawadi said:"Russia hosted a fantastic World Cup and set a high benchmark for us. We sent more than 100 observers to Russia and gained valuable experience in a range of areas, including security, venue management, transportation, and others."
As a result of its success during Russia 2018, Thawadi said Qatar was considering its own version of the FIFA Fan ID.
"Fan ID was a great success and it's something we're looking to emulate in Qatar," said Al Thawadi."We're looking forward to evolving the system and making it work for our tournament."
"Am sure if Qatar decides to use the Fan ID there could be more functions added up to it. It could have bigger functionality like credit card payment apart from knowing who is at the stadium, visa-free entry, and transport benefits," Sorokin said
Sorokin said his main advice to Qatar was to ensure all the infrastructure projects are completed as early as possible.
"Build everything on time and as far out from the tournament as possible," he advised."You need enough time to test the stadiums and facilities. Never underestimate the importance of test matches at new stadiums. The test matches helped us immensely."
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17/10/2018
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