All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel on Thursday extended his support to Qatar for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, saying India was looking forward to working with the country and continuing a long-standing relationship.
“As AFC Senior Vice-President and AIFF President, I fully support the Qatar Football Association and SC in their efforts to make the tournament a huge success. I am pleased that Qatar will be hosting Asia’s second ever FIFA World Cup in 2022 days in November 2022,” Mr. Patel said during the 2017 AFC Congress in Bahrain.
Talking about India’s relationship with Qatar, Mr. Patel said: “India’s relationship with Qatar goes back centuries and Indians have made a significant contribution towards the emergence of Qatar as a major economy in the Middle East.
“Indians living in Qatar will play a significant role in making the 2022 World Cup a success,” he added.
With India hosting the U-17 World Cup later this year, Mr. Patel said the country will look to work with Qatar to make Asia a force to reckon with in world football.
“As India prepares to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October with a great deal of emphasis on legacy initiatives, we will look to further engage with friendly countries such as Qatar and strive to make football in Asia a dominant force on the world stage in the next decade,” he said.
Mr. Patel also praised the SC’s strong commitment on the topic of workers’ welfare.
“I have noted with great satisfaction that the SC has welcomed the recent positive report by its third party auditor on the matter of further improving working and living conditions of construction workers, many of whom are Indians, involved in building 2022 World Cup stadiums,” he said.
