Doha (AFP)
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will take place with stadiums open at 100% of their capacity, organizers said despite uncertainties over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
If the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics, postponed for a year, insist at all costs that they take place this summer, experts in infectious diseases are questioning the advisability of maintaining this event when the virus does not is not totally defeated.
"Qatar has started hosting AFC Champions League matches without supporters," Yasser al-Jamal, chairman of the operations office of the 2022 World Cup, told AFP on Sunday.
"Then in December the capacity was increased to 30%, a percentage that was kept for the Club World Cup and we hope to get to the 2022 World Cup then with a capacity of 100%," he said. he adds.
Qatar are currently hosting the Club World Cup as the country experiences a rise in infection cases and hospital admissions.
New cases last week increased by a fifth from the previous week, while hospital admissions from Covid-19 rose 85% over the past month, the ministry said. of Health.
"There is confidence in the measures taken in the stadiums and the metro network and in the entrances and exits of the stadiums to preserve the safety of everyone," however assured Mr. Jamal.
"We have put in place several precautionary measures to make sure that the 30% capacity is appropriate," said the same official.
The fixtures take place in two stadiums which will host World Cup matches next year.
Qatar has so far inaugurated three new stadiums and opened a renovated venue.
Four more have yet to be completed.
Two of the unfinished stadiums, Al Thumama and Ras Abu Abboud, could be used for the Arab Nations Cup in December, Jamal said.
"It's up to Fifa to decide, but we hope that the Arab Cup will represent a golden opportunity to test both stadiums," he said, denying that works in the stadiums have been delayed due to the pandemic.
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