The embassy of Qatar in Mexico organized a virtual panel on July 7, 2020, under the theme "Intercultural World Cup 2022", an approach between the World Cup Qatar 2022 and the World Cup 1970 in Mexico, and the panel was attended by His Excellency Mr. Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy , His Excellency Mohamed AL Kuwari ,ambassador of the State of Qatar to Mexico, Her Excellency / Graciela Gómez, Ambassador of Mexico to the State of Qatar, Mr. John de Luisa, President of the Mexican Football Association, Ambassador of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy , Mr. Bora Milutinovic, and the Mexican professional player Mr.Marco Fabian. The panel was chaired by Mrs. Marion Reemers from "Fox Sport" channel.
His Excellency Mr. Hassan Al-Thawadi inaugurated the panel by talking about the state’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup , he said that Qatar is preparing for a special world cup that will remain in the memory of the fans and a legacy for the region and the world, where he talked about the work on infrastructure shedding light on 4 stadiums ready for the World Cup and the continuous work on the World Cup projects in accordance with international standards and he sent a message of hope to the world in light of the outbreak of the Corona virus "Covid-19", considering that the World Cup will unite the world and bring people together.
He also stressed that there is a global anticipation of theCovid-19, especially in the world of football, and therefore the Committee is cooperating with several parties, including FIFA, and communicating with football federations around the world, including "Concacaf", "European Champions League", and the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games in Tokyo to benefit from their experiences in Sports organization facing the pandemic. He congratulated the Mexican and Qatari people on the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, speaking about what the State of Qatar has witnessed through its organization last year of the FIFA Club World Cup 2019 where the Mexican fans who were accompanying the participation of their team "Monterrey" were able to enjoy Qatar and know more about its people, and their participation was distinguished in terms of their admiration for the way of life and traditions of the Qatari people, and he said that State of Qatar will organize on the road to 2022, many sports events like the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and several international championships with FIFA, including next year in an international championship for Arab teams, that will be Important on the road to the 2022 .
He also shed light on the role of women in sports and in the 2022 World Cup, speaking about the fact that Qatar is concerned with sport and there is no difference between women and men when talking about human and social rights in addition to that women play a very important role in sports as there is a women's football team and a Qatari women's football league and he pointed out that there is a wrong perception about the Qatari society, thinking that the role of women in the State of Qatar is marginalized. Here, His Excellency mentioned that women in the State of Qatar play a fundamental role in several fields and have a fundamental role in society. As an example, Ms. Fatima Al-Nuaimi, Director of Communication Department at the Supreme Committee.
The ambassador of Qatar in Mexico, Mohamed AL Kuwari welcomed his Excellency Hassan AL Thawadi and the guests in this panel organized in the framework of the embassy’s celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Mexico and shed light on Qatar as one of the countries in the region that most supports sport. Especially through hosting of the most important sporting events because of its belief that sport is a key factor for the development of societies.
He also talked about the state’s vision of organizing a major event such as the 2022 World Cup, which represents an opportunity for knowing other cultures. In addition, he mentioned the relation between the Qatari and Mexican cultures in terms of passion for football, as Mexico is one of the countries that previously hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986. Mexican fans are known to be among the most enthusiastic fans in the World Cup. Therefore, he pointed out that the embassy, in this context, is carrying out several projects as establishing contact with Mexicans prior to the 2022 World Cup, through the publication of useful information for travel and Qatari culture in addition to sports and cultural activities. It is worth noting that Qatar has granted facilities to several countries by exempting them from visa, including Mexico.
In this context, the Ambassador of Mexico to the State of Qatar, Her Excellency / Graciela Gomes, expressed the importance of diplomatic relations between the two countries that crossed distances through the 2022 World Cup, this event which she considered to be distinguished in terms of cultural and sports diplomas , considering it an opportunity to highlight the development of sports of the State of Qatar. Also, she spoke of her embassy’s willingness to provide all necessary support to the Mexican fans, considering that it is a great honor for her to be present at the 2022 World Cup alongside the Mexican team.
Mr. Yon de Luisa, President of the Mexican Football Association, talked about Mexico's experience in the 1970 World Cup, considering that it is a very special experience for a country like Mexico with a great passion for football to host the World Cup at that time only with 16 teams, where in the finals Brazil won a distinguished participation with the legendary player "Pele", and he said that there was a distinguished performance of the Mexican team competing with very high-level teams such as the Italian national team. Mexico proved a tremendous ability to organize the World Cup back then in its ninth edition.
He also added that the Qatar World Cup 2022 will be the last version of the World Cup with the participation of 32 teams, hoping that the Mexican national team will achieve distinguished results in the World Cup r 2022, expressing that it will be a distinguished version of the World Cup for the first time in an Arab country in the Middle East .
In this context, Mr. Bora Milutinovic, the famous coach and ambassador of the Supreme Committee , spoke about his experience as a coach of the Mexican national team in the 1986 World Cup, which took place in Mexico, where for him the Mexican national team achieved its most important historical classification in the World Cup considering that he is now in Qatar before hosting The 2022 World Cup, a unique experience speaking about the importance of the Qatari culture from which he learned many aspects about the Qatari people and the Qatari people and he talked about the wise vision of the country in organizing the 2022 World Cup, Considering that it will be a unique edition of the World Cup through its amazing infrastructure stadium facilities with advanced technologies that make the experience very special with moderate temperatures inside the stadiums that reach 22 degrees Celsius in addition to the proximity of the distances between the stadiums and an advanced metro stations.
There was an intervention by the mexican player / Marco Fabian, in which he talked about his experience in the Qatari Al Sadd team, describing the level of football in Qatar as distinctive, speaking about the hospitality of the Qatari people atmosphere of Qatari football . He talked about his experience in visiting some of the World Cup 2022 stadiums, where he described the experience as wonderful, as it is possible to see the continuous work of the State of Qatar on world Cup projects even with difficult conditions such as the spread of the Covid-19.
In the end , the ambassador Mohamed AL Kuwari invited Mexicans to visit the State of Qatar and enjoy this beautiful country. The audience thanked His Excellency Mr. Hassan Al-Thawadi and the Embassy for organizing this meeting, hoping for several years of distinguished bilateral relations between Qatar and Mexico.