World News – UA – From bubble to bubble: Qatar’s security ‘package’ impresses Asian football

Doha: Qatar’s meticulously planned’ security package ‘to host AFC Champions League matches at difficult times won major approval for match decision yesterday body on the continent

Iranian Persepolis and Saudi team Al Nassr will be seen in action today for the final match of the three-week tournament held at two World Cup venues – Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium

In total, 15 teams from Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Uzbekistan and Iraq came together for 31 matches after landing directly in a bubble-to-bubble environment none of which could predict how this would mitigate the threat of COVID -19 pandemic is currently raging in the world

However, just two years away from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the stakeholders hosting the AFC Champions League matches – the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC ), Qatar Football Association (QFA), Organizing Committee and Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) – successfully answered a number of outstanding questions in three weeks

Avazbek Berdikulov, deputy director of AFC’s football competitions and events division, yesterday congratulated Qatar on the way in which they have run the tournament

« I would like to thank QFA for their participation and support for the organization of this tournament This is a gesture greatly appreciated by the AFC The infrastructure in Qatar to host sporting events is truly unmatched. no doubt the competition went smoothly ”, said Berdikulov yesterday Berdikulov answered questions from the media during a live webinar titled « Organizing mega sporting events in a COVID-19 world »

« There is one game left but I don’t think there would be a problem in terms of the infrastructure involved in hosting this tournament We all know that Qatar is preparing to be the football capital by hosting the World Cup in 2022 and all preparations are going smoothly ”, added Berdikulov

“When we planned to resume action from the AFC – after its shutdown in March – we had a series of discussions with the AFC members We started working with FIFA and others organizations We have developed our own set of guidelines on how to resume action We discussed all scenarios before resuming I can proudly say that the AFC, in cooperation with QFA and LOC, did a tremendous job in putting 16 clubs in a country

« Football players need three things – the main thing is the training center and it should be good In addition, players need a good stadium and a good hotel In Qatar we have amazing conditions for playing football The training facilities were great The hotels were safe and the training venues were superb « said Berdikulov

« Let’s be honest the stadiums were just great We played at the World Cup venues and you couldn’t ask for more in this predicament We are really happy with the package we received in Qatar We also think that Qatar has acquired the experience and visibility of this tournament to move forward and lead to the World Cup, ”he added

Dr Abdulwahab Almusleh, senior consultant to the Minister of Public Health (MoPH), said yesterday that Qatar has become stronger and more confident in hosting high performance sporting events in the future

« The successful organization of matches gives us the assurance that the country is ready to host international sporting events in the future, » Dr Abdulwahab told the webinar « This experience gives us a boost in our understanding and experience. If for some reason a sporting event occurs in similar pandemic situations, surely the country is able to handle it successfully Now we live in a new world Since the onset of the pandemic, people have embraced the new standard for dealing with the disease Unfortunately, the disease is here to last for a while Things differ from country to country Many factors play into the overall capacity of a country to manage the pandemic, ”he declared

« Until the world achieves herd immunity and vaccine availability, several measures will need to be put in place to control the pandemic This could last for most of 2021

« In such circumstances, the athletic family will need to have meticulous planning in place for all of these events in order to effectively mitigate disease and prevent disease mortality. Here we saw that most of the cases were asymptomatic, very mild symptoms that came and went within a few days and only a few required intensive care in hospitals.

“With this huge experience, successfully hosting the AFC tournament, I have to say, with a lot of clubs – 16 teams – it’s like 50% of a World Cup The World Cup begins with 32 teams and we had 16 teams here Hopefully when things get better there will only be the fans left (who will participate in the future)

« The arrangements were, however, huge regardless of the absence of fans The extra layers of safety and security protocols were huge The successful reception here gives us assurance that the country is ready for sporting events international in the future This experience gives us a boost in our understanding and experience If for some reason a sporting event in the future occurs against the background of similar pandemic situations, surely the country is capable to manage it successfully ”, he added.

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Dr Abdulwahab Almusleh, senior consultant to the Minister of Public Health (MOPH), announced yesterday that Qatar had carried out 7,900 stunning COVID-19 tests during the AFC Champions League matches which took place held in the country in the last three weeks

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Asian Football Confederation, AFC Champions League, Qatar Football Association, Competition, FIFA World Cup 2022