FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar will become a “benchmark” for holding future global sporting events during a health crisis.
Qatari organisers, who will have thousands of extra medical staff on duty for the 32 nation event starting November 21, said they are “cautiously optimistic” it will be the first mass gathering of sports fans for a global sports event since the coronavirus pandemic erupted two years ago.
Spectators were largely kept out of last year’s Tokyo Olympics and the ongoing Winter Olympics in China.
FIFA announced this week that requests have been made for 17 million tickets for the first World Cup in the Arab region and sought to reassure fans about safety measures during an online health conference organised by the Qatar authorities.