Overwhelming fan response to AFC Cup, new-look Arab Cup tournament soon: Sheikh Hamad

HE the Minister of Sport and Youth and Chairman of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Organising Committee, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani said that the public turnout for the matches exceeded expectations, revealing that more than 1,200,000 tickets have been sold while the attendance so far reached 620,000.HE Sheikh Hamad said organising the Olympics is the biggest dream. He also said the FIFA Arab Cup will return in a new look in coordination with the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), the Arab Football Association, and other parties. "All details will be announced soon." The head of the tournament organizing committee said in a press interview at the Qatar International Convention Center: "The crowd attendance exceeded all expectations in all matches without exception. So far, more than 620 thousand spectators watched the matches so far.He stressed that the Arab communities are one of the reasons for the great success of the Asian Cup, and in the 2021 Arab Championship the stadiums were full, and the Arab fans continued in the 2022 World Cup, especially since we see Arab fans present in the stands even though their countries are not participating in the tournament.The head of the organizing committee explained that tickets for the Qatar and Palestine national team matches were completely sold out before the tournament began, and there is a passionate public presence in every match of the two teams since the first match in the group stage.He pointed out that among the factors of public demand was the modernity of the tournament stadiums, which hosted the Qatar World Cup matches, which made the public eager to follow the competitions in elegant stadiums, and the ease of communication with the availability of the metro, which can transport thousands of people very quickly to the event venue.He said : Our goal was to organize the Asian Cup after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and under the circumstances that resulted from China’s apology, we requested to host the 2023 Asian Cup Qatar, and 3 exceptional tournaments were organized: the 2021 Arab Cup, the 2022 World Cup, and the 2023 Asian Cup, and these tournaments achieved a great success. This confirms that the Gulf region as a whole has proven that it has the capabilities to host the largest sporting events. He noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Cup in 2027 and the World Cup in 2034, and when Saudi Arabia applied to organise the 2034 World Cup, there was no country competing with it.He added, "We set the same standards for the Qatar World Cup 2022 in the tournament, and most of the people who experienced the events of the World Cup operations are themselves present in the continental tournament, and therefore we made no distinction at all between the two tournaments."He added: "I hope that the Arab countries will reach the farthest point in the tournament, and the most worthy and strongest is the one who will be crowned champion. I hope that the Qatari team will be the title holder, and in my capacity as a member of the Executive Office of the Asian Confederation, I wish success to all teams participating in the tournament.The Minister also spoke about the future of the 2022 World Cup stadiums, and the existence of thinking in the past to dismantle some stadiums and donate them to developing countries. He said: "Organizing the Asian Cup at this time postponed the idea a little.” However, there is still a study to take the best opinion and implement it, especially since a month from now there will be hosting the AFC U-23 Championship, and there is also an intention to host more other tournaments in Qatar.The Minister said: "The Palestinian issue does not concern Palestine only, but concerns the entire Arab and Islamic nation. I believe that it is the duty of every Arab and Muslim to have a role in this issue.He added: "We are involved in sports events and football in particular, and therefore we are trying to support them in a way that we believe can help and make the Palestinian team perform its best on the field and appear at a distinguished level.”Regarding the proceeds from selling tickets and allocating a portion of them to support relief efforts for the Palestinian people and the brothers in Gaza, he said: "This is our duty, and it constitutes only a small percentage of the role that everyone must play towards the brothers in Gaza.”Pointing out that everyone is keen to encourage Palestine, he said: "I fear that if we play against Palestine, the fans of the Qatari team will support Palestine and not our team, and this love is sincere.”The Minister said that the organising committee for the tournament was formed after the end of the World Cup Qatar 2022, with the same work team, with some changes to some names, as a continuation of the success in the World Cup.He pointed out that the Qatari cadres are part of the legacy of the World Cup and will be relied upon in the futureJassim Abdul Aziz al-Jassim, CEO of the Local Organising Committee for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, said that the Haya card will be an entry visa to Qatar, and not like it was in the Qatar World Cup 2022, and he pointed to the great facilities provided to all fans.