Members of Qatar’s bid committee for the 2022 World Cup arrived safely at Doha International Airport on Friday evening, coming from the Swiss city of Zurich, where they had led Qatar to victory on Thursday in winning the honour of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the first time in the history of the Arab region and the Middle East.
The committee members’ private plane touched down at Doha airport at exactly quarter past seven in the evening, Doha time, where it received a huge official and public welcome, with the Amiri terminal opened in honour of the Qatar bid delegation.
Leading the returning delegation were Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of the bid, and the wife of HH the Amir of the State of Qatar, HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Misnad, and
Abdullah Al Thawadi, the bid’s chief executive, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, president of the Qatar Football Association, and Nasser Al Khater, the bid’s director of communications and marketing.
Among those at the front of the welcoming party at the foot of the aircraft steps were Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Deputy Amir and Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir’s representative, Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, adviser to the Amir, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry, and Sheikh Saoud bin Ali Al Thani, president of the Asian Basketball Federation and vice-president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, along with a large number of state officials and hundreds of citizens, and the Qatari national anthem was played the moment the arrivals set foot on the airport tarmac.
Sporting and other leading figures also took part in the reception, led by Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, and members of Qatar’s sporting community across all disciplines and the heads of the sports federations, while children in national dress carrying flowers hung them around the necks of Sheikh Mohammed and the committee members.
Sheikh Mohammed was the first off the plane, holding up the card bearing the name “Qatar” which had earlier been held by Switzerland’s Joseph Blatter
, president of FIFA, when he revealed the identity of the country that had won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
After the embraces and congratulations on their safe return and achievement, the members of the Qatar bid delegation boarded an open-top bus, while HH Sheikha Moza rode in a classic open-top car driven by her son Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, who had been an ambassador for the 2006 Asian Games torch relay.
The motorcade, led by Sheikha Moza’s car, made its way through the streets of Doha, in particular the Corniche, cutting through crowds of tens of thousands who had gathered to welcome the architects of Qatar’s achievement, and the tour ended in the Aspire area, where fireworks were set off.
The crowds, undeterred by fatigue from having gathered so early, greeted Sheikh Mohammed, the rest of the bid committee members and Sheikha Moza with great enthusiasm, and the gathered crowds carried Qatari flags and pictures of HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, holding up the World Cup, and another of Sheikh Mohammed, alongside various means of celebration such as horns and different costumes.
The crowds had come out since dawn on Friday, 3 December, in a spontaneous gesture of thanks to welcome the pioneers and champions of Qatar’s success, filling the streets leading to Doha airport, the Corniche and other side roads, whether in their cars or on foot, raising Qatari flags and banners, sounding their car horns, and marching in processions of joy, celebration and gratitude.
Traditional wooden boats and vessels also sailed along the Corniche, playing national songs and chants, while dance circles formed along the sides of the Corniche, and large numbers of flags of the Arab communities resident in Qatar were seen.
Celebrations in Qatar had begun and had not stopped since the announcement of Qatar’s win, with processions moving through the streets of Qatari cities, especially the Corniche and the airport, where crowds gathered to celebrate the heroes’ return, while similarly large numbers gathered in the Aspire area to celebrate as well.
The Qatari delegation, led by Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, had on Thursday, 2 December, marked a new date and a turning point in world thinking and orientation towards this region of the world, when it succeeded in wresting the honour of hosting the 2022 World Cup from the world’s giants, giving the Arab world and the Middle East a glimmer of hope towards a good, bright and new dawn.
Qatar prevailed after a fair contest overseen by FIFA against major countries of the world, foremost among them the United States, as well as South Korea, Japan and Australia, after four rounds of voting in which the Arab country won the absolute majority of confidence of FIFA’s executive committee, as the numbers clearly showed (14 votes to 8 for the United States in the final round).
Source: Al Jazeera Sport website
