Asian football body pleased with 2022 preparations

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is fully satisfied with the Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it’s vice president Saoud al-Mohannadi said in Bangkok on Monday.Al-Mohannadi, who is also the vice-president of the Qatar Football Association, is in the Thai capital to attend various meetings to be held during the course of the prestigious AFC Annual Awards.His comments came on Monday at a meeting of the Organising Committee of the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in the UAE, of which the Qatari is the chairman.During the meeting, al-Mohannadi talked about the progress of Qatar’s World Cup plans, saying that the AFC is fully aware of Qatar’s commitment to host a spectacular tournament in five years’ time. He said the AFC is confident of Qatar’s abilities as the host of the mega event.Al-Mohannadi noted at the meeting that Qatar announced the readiness of the reconstructed Khalifa International Stadium in May and will shortly announce the completion of two other venues.The Khalifa International Stadium played host to the Emir Cup final earlier this year and is also hosting matches in the ongoing Qatar Stars League.On Sunday, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) unveiled the design of Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, the seventh 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium announced for the tournament.Due for completion in 2020, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium has a bold and innovative design concept, never seen in a FIFA World Cup venue before as it will be fully dismountable after the event is over.The modular building blocks Ras Abu Aboud Stadium consists of are modified shipping containers, each containing fundamental stadium elements that can be quickly assembled and disassembled at various locations as required, all in pursuit of the SC’s mission to ensure the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar leaves a lasting legacy for the country, the region and the world. The meeting of the Organising Committee for the 2019 Asian Cup concluded by emphasising on the separation of sport from politics when one AFC member talked about the impact of the Gulf crisis on the tournament.The committee also launched the ‘vision and mission’ framework for the tournament, which will take place from January 5 to February 1, 2019 in the UAE.Al-Mohannadi said that the tournament has been expanded from 16 to 24 teams, and the 2019 edition in the UAE will be the largest and best ever in the history of the event.