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Decision on Qatar co-hosting FIFA World Cup with Oman, Kuwait pending: Official

Will Qatar share the FIFA 2022 World Cup with Oman and Kuwait?

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Sunday, March 10, 2019


Will Qatar share the FIFA 2022 World Cup with Oman and Kuwait? Responding to media reports that Qatar may share World Cup 2022 tournament with Oman and Kuwait, Nasser Al-Khater, the CEO of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, said that a decision has not been made on the issue.

Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Al Khater stressed that a decision will be made jointly between the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and FIFA.

Whilst in a written statement the 2022 chief added that further discussions will be had with FIFA in March.

“We reiterate our assertion that the State of Qatar is preparing to host the tournament in all its 32 teams and has not yet taken any decision to increase the number of teams participating in the tournament to 48 teams and did not take any decision to participate with other countries.”

“A further discussion will be had on March 14 and 15 in the United States of America and will be decided on the basis of the results of the feasibility study conducted by the Supreme Committee.”

According to statements carried by Al Jazeera News Channel also, no decision has yet been taken on whether the number of teams will increase to 48 or if there will be co-hosts.

Football’s governing body FIFA is pushing to expand Qatar’s World Cup to 48 teams and is now reported to be considering sharing the tournament with Oman and Kuwait.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been talking up the idea of a broader tournament for months. But the concept of sharing football’s showpiece with Qatar’s neighbours is complicated by geopolitics.

Qatar is under a blockade by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, however, Oman and Kuwait have remained neutral in the issue.

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