Qatar cooperates with the World Health Organization for the safety of major sporting events and the 2022 World Cup

The Qatari authorities and the World Health Organization have launched a new multi-year program to support health and safety aspects during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 , and to represent the tournament as a beacon for promoting physical and psychological health, and a model to ensure the establishment of major healthy and safe sporting events in the future. .

The announcement of the three-year joint project, titled “Healthy World Cup 2022 - Creating a Legacy of Sport and Health”, came during a joint ceremony at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

The program was launched by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the Organization, Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al-Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Gianni Infantino, President of the International Football Association (FIFA), and Dr. Ahmed bin Salem Al-Mandhari, Director of the World Health Organization for the Region Eastern Mediterranean.

Qatar and the organization, in cooperation with the FIFA, will carry out joint activities to promote healthy lifestyles, health security and physical and psychological safety during the event, which is at the top of world football, and its competitions will be held from November 21 to December 18 next year. .

In addition, the project aims to achieve another primary objective of identifying and translating best practices in promoting health, security and safety, as practiced in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for use in major sporting events around the world.

“I thank Minister Hanan Al-Kuwari and the State of Qatar for cooperating with the World Health Organization to make the FIFA World Cup 2022 a role model in healthy sporting events,” said Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

He added: “Given that Qatar 2022 will be the first FIFA World Cup to be held during the pandemic , this event provides a unique opportunity to highlight the power of sport to promote health, in order to build a lasting legacy of organizing healthy sporting events as the world recovers from the pandemic . the pandemic.”

For her part, Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan al-Kuwari said: “Qatar is proud to be the first country in the Middle East to host the FIFA World Cup, but our goal is not only to hold a successful sports tournament, but also to organize a sporting event that is among the most health-conscious, and that is why we cooperated With the World Health Organization".

Among the main topics that the project will focus on is the promotion of healthy lifestyles, through, inter alia, physical activity, healthy diets, cessation of tobacco use and control; enhancing health security, with a focus on ensuring the safety of large gatherings and events; In addition to health awareness activities.

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, praised the new partnership between Qatar and the World Health Organization, saying that it was built on the successful partnership between FIFA and the organization signed in 2019.

For his part, Hassan Al Thawadi said: “Since obtaining the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, we have carefully studied the importance of the tournament leaving a sustainable community legacy that meets the aspirations and needs of community members in Qatar, our region, and all over the world, and contributes to improving their lives for the better. With the experience of the pandemic, the importance of taking advantage of this tournament to build awareness and improve public health has greatly increased.”