India has become a huge football market, thanks to ISL: Qatar 2022 CEO Al-Khater
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Qatar 2022 CEO Nasser Al-Khater said on Thursday that Indian sports fans are slowly looking beyond cricket and have developed an interest in football, thanks to the Indian Super League (ISL).
“India has become a huge football market with the advent [Indian] Super League. They had a much greater interest in cricket, but football is becoming more and more popular, “Al-Khater told reporters.
Al-Khater, Assistant Secretary-General for Operations at the Supreme Commission on Shipping and Heritage, is also confident that the West Asian nation will have a large number coming from India at next year’s FIFA World Cup.
“It’s hard to say how many people will come to the World Cup from India. But I can assure you that the 2017 Under-17 World Cup and the popularity of football among the people there will be of interest. It’s huge,” he said.
Qatar – which has been hosting a four-year exhibition on December 2, 2010 – has been blamed by various media outlets and human rights groups for the country’s limited football history, spending, local atmosphere, criminalization of homosexuality and labor laws.
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Qatar has yet to decide on plans to allow footballers who have refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are working closely with FIFA and monitoring the situation around the world with regard to COVID. Over time, we have seen that there is much more convenience with vaccinated passengers. Vaccination programs around the world are moving much faster. Many more vaccines are being accepted. “There is no definite answer yet. We need to see what the world will be like a year from now.”
Qatar expects about 1.5 million people during the tournament, with various plans being put in place for accommodation and fan sites.
“You will feel more energized by the fans at the World Championships here, because they will all be concentrated in one place. We have done a lot of research and modeling to see how many rooms are expected according to the number. Among the fans we expect every day.
“We will have properties like hotels and service apartments to meet different needs. We will also have floating hotels on cruise ships. There are plans for desert camps … we’ve been talking about this for a long time. Fans will like it. These experiences,” Al-Khater said.
(Writer invited to Qatar by Supreme Commission on Shipping and Legacy)
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