Qatar has pledged to put on an “affordable” World Cup in two-and-a-half years’ time with a post-pandemic global recession looming.

Speaking at the LeadersWeek.direct conference, Hassan AL Thawadi,  the secretary general of the supreme committee for delivery and legacy of Qatar 2022, said: “There are significant implications for employment, livelihoods, and the problem we have today is, what is recovery going to look like?

“It’s all right now unclear. We are entering into a recession, and there is no doubt there is a concern about the global economy and the ability of fans to afford travel and afford coming and celebrating the World Cup.

“We have always said from day one this will be an affordable tournament; we want anyone who wants to be able to come to the World Cup to be able to come.

“We demonstrated that during the Club World Cup 2019 when we engaged with fans from all the different clubs, that the whole travel experience was affordable in terms of flights, in terms of accommodation.

“We’re trying to understand what the recovery is going to look like, and we’re still committed to a balance between an affordable World Cup and at the same time a price range which is functional for the industry and for service providers. That is one of the concerns that we have.”