This is a World Cup for Arabs — Qatar Legacy Ambassador
Khalid Salman Al-Muhannadi – Qatar Legacy Ambassador and football legend has said the 2022 Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup to be hosted by Qatar, is a special one for all Arabs.
Addressing the media on Tuesday after a tour of the Al Bayt Stadium, Al-Muhannadi said the 2022 World Cup was a special honour for all Arabs adding that it would be an opportunity for them to showcase their culture and history.
According to Al-Muhannadi, the designs of all the eight stadiums for the competition were inspired by their culture and environment.
“That is why one of the stadiums looks like our tents. Arabs love to be in tents. The Al Bayt Stadium was inspired by the Arab culture of staying in tents.
“Others looked like our vessels whilst some of the designs were inspired by the Arabian caps”, he added.
The Qatar football legend noted that though they were a small country, they had demonstrated that they had the capacity to do big things.
He said they were doubts over their ability, because of the weather, but they had proved critics wrong with the innovation of fitting each stadium with cooling systems.
Al-Muhannadi said his country had made adequate preparations for the world cup and wants the world to come and witness the true Arab culture and history.
Legend Khalid Salman is one of the stars of the golden generation of Qatar football, who played for Al Sadd club and the national football team from 1981 to 1991.
Born in 1962 and started with the Al Sadd youth team in 1976 before graduating to the senior team in the 1978-1979 season, with an illustrious career that spanned over 20 years.
He won many championships with Al Sadd and he was among their most prominent players who won the Asian Championship in 1989.
He was a part of our Qatar team, which won second place at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia, where he scored three goals against Brazil.
He was also a part of the Olympic squad at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, USA, where he shone and scored two goals against France.
Source: GNA