FIFA World Cup in 2022: Qatar says confident to host next tournament

World
Europe

02:51

First time ever for the World Cup to be host in winter. FIFA has confirmed that the 2022 World Cup in QATAR will take place over months of November and December. And it may leave doors open for 48 teams. Critics of the Qatar tournament have already raised concerns about readiness, overcrowding and human rights. But organizers are confident as Dan Williams now reports.

Moscow's Gorky Park attracts tens of thousands of visitors each day. And football fans here are getting a 2022 World Cup preview.

This is the Majlis Qatar, a temporary exhibition giving visitors a taste of what to expect in Qatar in four years. Organizers of the Qatar World Cup have been watching and learning.

NASSER AL-KHATER DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL FOR TOURNAMENT AFFAIRS "I think there is a lot of takeaways from this World Cup. We are going to go back home with a lot of lessons. Organizationally, we have learned a lot. In terms of security, we've learned a lot. Also fan experience, and what they've been able to offer fans here is something that we will take away."

Among the attention-grabbing events, a football match featuring legends of the game including Didier Drogba and David Trezeguet.

DAN WILLIAMS MOSCOW "As Russia 2018 draws to a close, the spotlight will naturally shift to Qatar. There are already a number of concerns surrounding the 2022 hosts. Not least how the country can cope with the influx of hundreds of thousands of football fans."

The majority of stadiums will be built within a radius of 25 kilometers. There're concerns about the lack of accommodations and overcrowding.

NASSER AL-KHATER DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL FOR TOURNAMENT AFFAIRS "You have to look at a World Cup as you would look at an Olympics. And that is the way we are viewing it. We have to look at Qatar as a canvas, look at Qatar as the entire place of congregation. We need to make sure we cater to that and make sure we have enough for fans in various locations of Qatar so we have various points of congregation."

Since winning the right to host the tournament in 2010, the main criticism facing Qatar centers on its human rights record. A report last year by Humans Rights Watch claimed Qatari authorities are still not doing enough to protect migrant workers. But organizers say that situation is changing.

NASSER AL-KHATER DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL FOR TOURNAMENT AFFAIRS "It is something that the government has been looking at prior to the World Cup, making certain changes and certain reform. The World Cup has accelerated it. A lot of laws have been enacted. And we think that Qatar has come a long way when it comes to workers rights."

Qatar has a little over four years before the World Cup becomes a reality. The clock is ticking for organizers to prove the skeptics wrong. Dan Williams, CGTN, Moscow.