By Bakary Ceesay
Following a conducted tour of facilities being built ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, His Excellency, President Adama Barrow expressed his admiration for Qatar’s state of preparedness for the forthcoming global sporting event.
President Barrow, who was impressed with the tour, said his experience was inspiring and shall be a learning curve for him and the government in the effort to successfully organize the Organization of Islamic Conference Summit in The Gambia the same year.
“It is a coincidence that Qatar and The Gambia are both small countries yet would be hosting two global events in 2022’’,
President Barrow said at the end of the tour that took place on the sidelines of the State visit. ‘’Key in the hosting of such events is the development of the road infrastructure to ease travel as well as the venues with modern facilities to host world-class events”.
Earlier, President Barrow visited a new ultra-modern underground train station and an exhibition centre, all of which have been built in preparation of the World Cup. His Excellency, Mr. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Minister of Municipality and Environment, who is in charge of these infrastructural developments, accompanied President Barrow on this tour of the facilities.
The Minister also led the president on a ride onboard one of the new trains at the Al Qassar Rail Station that are designed to ease travel around the city and make the different stadiums accessible.
President Barrow also stopped at the complex of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the body responsible for organizing the hosting of the World Cup. Nasser Al Khater, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar FIFA 2022 was at hand to brief the President about the history of football in Qatar, the country’s bidding experience for the World Cup, and the designs of the different stadiums being built in preparation for the 2022 games in Qatar.
