Qatar 2022/ Gulf, Arab and International Media: Qatar Fulfilled its Promise

Doha, December 19 (QNA) - The closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, held at Lusail Stadium, during which HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, crowned the Argentine football team, has received wide media attention, as Qatar fulfilled its promise for this World Cup to be an exceptional and historical edition whose impact and legacy will remain throughout history. Gulf, Arab and international newspapers and media devoted wide spaces to cover the ceremony, which captured the world's attention and sparked wide interaction in media. International media unanimously agreed that the State of Qatar has the right to be proud of what it has provided and achieved in presenting an exceptional version of the World Cup that will remain engraved over time. For its part, the Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadh" said in its editorial that it is almost the strongest and most beautiful version of the World Cup since its inception, which was hosted by the sisterly State of Qatar, in an amazing global demonstration and which witnessed admiration and fascination from all over the world. The newspaper added, "It was not wrong to describe football as a 'crazy' game, as it is capable of making everyone gather around the screens to watch it and enjoy its magic away from the identity conflict. The desire for fun for football is what the followers agree on inside or outside the stadium." The newspaper concluded by emphasizing the great impact of this World Cup culturally and humanly, and it was even an opportunity for sociological researchers to read about this important global phenomenon, dismantling this event and reading it scientifically, and drawing conclusions that can be used in probing the cultures and civilizations in terms of anthropology and others. The Omani newspaper Al-Ruya wrote on its front page, "Messi the legend of Argentina... and Qatar dazzled the world," that Lusail Stadium witnessed a crazy match between the Argentine national team and the French national team in the final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which ended with a penalty shootout in favor of the tango dancers for the third time in their history. While the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Qabas, focused on the World Cup final, writing, "Argentina...the dream has come true"...the Argentine national team won the title for the third time in its history by defeating France." It added, "Lusail Stadium is decorated at the end of the tournament, with the attendance of more than 88,000 spectators, led by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and senior guests. The Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Rai, confirmed in its editorial that Qatar World Cup is the most luxurious, organized and attractive event, and Qatar offered the fans the ability to attend two or even three matches per day in the beginning of the tournament, with full logistical facilities of services and infrastructure, not to mention the splendor of the stadiums and the smoothness of their paths, as 80,000 people exited the stands within minutes without any stampede incident. The newspaper praised Qatar's managing of all the attacks that targeted it in an elegant manner, refusing to be drawn into linguistic polemics, and the real and effective Qatari response was to focus on completing the path of football and sports success in parallel with calling for a cultural and human rapprochement among the peoples of the world, stressing that Qatar gave lessons, on how to "get the job done" with impressive ability, and proved that adherence to customs and traditions does not preclude success in organizing a huge global event, but rather that commitment was a source of richness, integration and interaction. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa wrote, on its front page "The Great Final ... Argentina", praising the closing ceremony of the Qatar World Cup competitions with a wonderful ceremony in front of the fans in the stadium with the participation of a group of singers, where the ceremony lasted 15 minutes, in the presence of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the French President Emmanuel Macron, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. For its part, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida said, that Qatar, an Arab Gulf Muslim country boldly bids to host the World Cup, enters into fierce competition with large countries such as the United States, South Korea and Australia, and then wins the confidence of the (FIFA), and win the honor of hosting the World Cup. Al-Jarida expressed its congratulations to the State of Qatar, and said, "We say congratulations to Qatar, and congratulations to HH the Amir, the government and the people of Qatar, for that civilized leap, congratulations for their elaborate work, their tireless pursuit, and their overcoming all difficulties, congratulations for their success despite criticisms and slanders." For its part, the Algerian newspaper elDjoumhouria wrote an article under the title:" Qatar succeeds in organizing the best version ever of world cup... Record numbers and historic crowd attendance", in which the newspaper said that after one month of competitions between the 32 teams participating in the most powerful soccer tournament in the world, one of the most successful versions of world cup tournaments in history has ended on Sunday since its launch in 1930, whose games coincided with the national day of the State of Qatar to be historically associated with an exceptional day for Qatar. The newspaper added that the tournament conclusion was perfect for this gulf Arab state that achieved unprecedented successes and historic figures that will remain eternal in the history of the tournament, starting from the first record-breaking number, in terms of the impressive revenues that amounted to USD 7.5 billion with an increase of USD 1 billion compared to the previous version in 2018 that was held in Russia. On the other hand, Tunisian (TAP) news agency stated that the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that was held at Lusail Stadium before the launch of the final match between France and Argentine teams witnessed an artistic performance that combined transition from antiquity and heritage to modernity and cosmopolitanism, through showcasing artistic paintings and music performances characterized by impressiveness and artistic creativity, adding that the ceremony was an opportunity for the State of Qatar to thank the entire world after hosting an exceptional and unique world cup tournament which broke the records and left indelible memories for the world. The Tunisian News Agency pointed out that the closing ceremony of the world cup witnessed the honoring of reproachment of world nations in 29 days during the tournament period, starting from the opening ceremony until the last salute in the midst of a musical mix of songs from the official lyric album of the tournament. TAP concluded that the design and the unique creative style of lighting in Lusail Stadium prompted dazzling vibes and creativity in the closing ceremony culminating in unveiling in the official music of the world cup finals that carries the name of "One Day" performed by Dana Al Fardan, and upon her emergence, the fans surrounded the edge of the pitch and an exciting light projection show was played across the pitch. The performance was "about love and peace and that we are all a small part of a giant universe". Under the title: " We would not say Goodbye to Qatar.. But always remain with Arab creativity", the Writer Wassim Sabra wrote in the Lebanese Al Liwa Newspaper by saying that he was certain and assured that Qatar would organize one of the vital world cups throughout the history. He confirmed that the people of Qatar has succeeded in curbing the fierce campaigns that tried to undermine the hosting of this event by an Arab and Islamic state to thwart its aims, not only this, but the tournament was transformed by a divine wisdom into a message that uncovers who are the people of right, and exposes the delusions of the falsehood group. He underlined that such tournament will never be replicated, not only by its dazzling organizational success, but in terms of the humanitarian and supreme message it carried that took its way from the goodness of Doha, the beloved gulf to all territories of the planet. The Lebanese Addiyar Newspaper said that the eyes of millions of soccer fans worldwide headed towards Lusail Stadium to watch the dazzling ceremony held by the host country at the conclusion of the World Cup, adding that the corners of Lusail Stadium were filled with fans of the Argentine and French national teams, while the main cabin was filled with illustrious sports, art and businessmen stars. The closing ceremony started with incredible performance in a form of sea to demonstrate Qatar's connection to the sea world throughout its history which highlighted this distinct work, the newspaper said, indicating that the ceremony witnessed a collection of music from the official songs of the tournament that were directly performed in front of the fans. In addition, MTV Lebanon emphasized that all visitors of the State of Qatar enjoyed a multitude of activities they found there between the sea and desert, such as diving and falconry, adding that the TV camera toured many tourist attractions that dazzled the spectators during the episodes that were allocated for the tournament, specially that many of them were not aware of these tourist landmarks. They also discovered that the people of Qatar are generous and have maintained their culture, customs and traditions and have perfectly presented them to the world that have entirely altered the ideas of the others. In the same context, French news agency AFP said that HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced that his country has fulfilled its promise to organize an exceptional edition of the World Cup, noting that His Highness extended his thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this tournament. AFP pointed out HH the Amir's statement via his official Twitter account, in which His Highness said that, at the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the State of Qatar has fulfilled its promise of delivering an exceptional tournament from the land of Arabs, providing the chance for peoples of the world to learn about the enriched and authentic Arab culture and values. The State of Qatar built many several new stadiums and worked on its infrastructure years prior to hosting the first World Cup edition organized by an Arab country, AFP explained, pointing out that President of FIFA Gianni Infantino described this tournament as the best among all the previous editions. The news agency noted that at the end of the final match, in which Argentina beat France on penalties, HH the Amir, dressed Lionel Messi - who has led his country to win the tournament for the third time, in the traditional Arab 'Bisht' cloak, before the latter lifted the golden World Cup trophy. Under the title 'Qatar Takes Pride in Its Exceptional World Cup Edition,' German news agency DPA said that Lusail Stadium witnessed the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 after a breathtaking match between Argentine and France, in the presence of more than 88,000 fans, during which the Argentinian team made a victory by winning the World Cup of the first edition in the Arab world, and the third in history. The final match coincided with the host country's National Day, DPA said, adding that Messi and his teammates were able to win the title by defeating France on penalty kicks 4-2 after an astounding match that ended in a draw after the extra time, with three goals for each team, putting Team Tango back on the winning podium after an absence of more than 36 years, since Argentina won the Cup led by legend Maradona in the World Cup Mexico in 1986. The start of the match was preceded by a brief closing ceremony, with the participation of several artists, with the lighting of 32 balls resembling celestial bodies decorated with the flags of the countries whose teams participated in the World Cup tournament, DPA added. The German news agency also said that the closing ceremony included a performance by two Arab poets - Tamim Al Barghouti and Mohamed Ould Bemba, who affirmed that the spirit of football was reflected in the tournament, promoting peace, equality and coexistence by emphasizing that there are no differences between the competitors, as humanity is equal in this spherical world and the privileges are distributed equally to everyone. These words embody the relationship between Qatar and the challenges it faced in order to organize an exceptional event such as the World Cup, and shed light on Qatar's resilience and determination supported by regional and international stances with the right to organize, without double standards or changing measures in judgments, DPA added. The German news agency stressed Qatar's success in hosting the first close-distance edition in the history of the World Cup since the launch of the first edition of the World Cup in 1930, explaining that the proximity between stadiums allowed the fans to attend more than one match in one day during the first stages of the tournament matches, and that the country received more than one million and 400 thousand visitors over a period of 29 days. DPA noted that in addition to attending matches in World Cup stadiums, fans enjoyed a variety of recreational activities at many locations across the country, including the FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha, which received nearly 2 million fans throughout the days of the tournament, in addition to the Doha Corniche, and the areas surrounding the stadiums. The tourist attractions in Qatar have formed a destination for fans from everywhere to get together to celebrate their passion for football, and to learn about diverse cultures from around the globe in an exceptional atmosphere, DPA added. For its part, Turkish Anadolu news agency highlighted the announcement of HH the Amir, in which His Highness said that his country has fulfilled its promise of organizing an exceptional edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament, after the conclusion of the tournament. The Turkish news agency explained that the Argentinian national team managed to win the World Cup in Qatar after defeating its French counterpart in the final match on penalties, after the match ended in a draw with three goals for each team. Anadolu pointed out that, through his official account on Twitter, HH the Amir congratulated Argentina for winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 trophy and France for the runner-up position, and extended his thanks to all the participating teams for their wonderful performance and the fans who cheered for them enthusiastically. HH the Amir added that at the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the State of Qatar has fulfilled its promise of delivering an exceptional tournament from the land of Arabs, providing the chance for peoples of the world to learn about the enriched and authentic Arab culture and values, the agency added. Anadolu indicated that the closing ceremony focused on the message of building a bridge between cultures, through several artistic activities, including songs, poems and other performances. For its part, Russia Today television network affirmed that HH the Amir sent a message to the teams participating in the Qatar World Cup, as well as the fans, underlining His Highness' keenness to send a message to the winner and participants in the finals of the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup 2022, which concluded Sunday in Qatar. HH the Amir congratulated Argentina for winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 trophy and France for the runner-up position, and extended his thanks to all the participating teams for their wonderful performance and the fans who cheered for them enthusiastically. HH the Amir added that at the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the State of Qatar has fulfilled its promise of delivering an exceptional tournament from the land of Arabs, providing the chance for peoples of the world to learn about the enriched and authentic Arab culture and values, Russia Today added. The Russian television network indicated that, in addition to hosting the major tournament of the FIFA World Cup, Doha strives to host other tournaments in the coming years, adding that the distinctively unique edition of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was undoubtedly the best edition in the history of the World Cup tournaments, as Qatar was keen to provide facilities that did not exist in previous editions. In an interview with the British BBC network, sports analyst Mohamed Afifi said that the State of Qatar achieved a great success and gave a lesson to all those who targeted the country and projected their racism on it, adding that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is a very important achievement for the State of Qatar, which was keen to host it at the highest level in terms of organization and the quality of stadiums and facilities, as well as the facilities it provided for its visitors. The 2026 World Cup may not be able to provide the facilities provided by Qatar's edition of the World Cup, Afifi said, pointing out that this remarkable success is an achievement for the Arabs and for the State of Qatar. The British TV delegate to Qatar said that Doha made a great effort to make this edition of the World Cup a success, and achieved a remarkable accomplishment, despite the allegations that surrounded this edition since the announcement that Qatar would host it. She stressed that the distinctive stadium designs will remain ingrained in the minds of all fans and everyone who have come to Qatar to attend this exceptional edition. (QNA)