State House, Banjul, 11th September 2019 – Following a conducted tour of facilities being built ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, President Adama Barrow has expressed his admiration for the country’s state of preparedness for the global sporting event.
President Barrow said his experience shall be a learning curve for him and the government in the effort to successfully organize the Organization of Islamic Conference Summit in The Gambia the same year.
“It is a coincidence that Qatar and The Gambia are both small countries yet would be hosting two global events in 2022,” said President Barrow at the end of the tour.
“Key in the hosting of such events is the development of the road infrastructure to ease travel as well as the venues with modern facilities to host world-class events.”
Earlier, President Barrow visited a new ultra-modern underground train station and an exhibition centre, all of which have been built in preparation of the World Cup.
Mr. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Minister of Municipality and Environment, who is in charge of these infrastructural developments, accompanied President Barrow on this tour of the facilities.
The Minister also led the president on a ride onboard one of the new trains at the Al Qassar Rail Station that are designed to ease travel around the city and make the different stadiums accessible.
President Barrow also stopped at the complex of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the body responsible for organizing the hosting of the World Cup. Nasser Al Khater, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar FIFA 2022 was at hand to brief the President about the history of football in Qatar, the country’s bidding experience for the World Cup, and the designs of the different stadiums being built in preparation for the 2022 games in Qatar.
The Gambian leader is on a 3-day state visit to Qatar which ends tomorrow. Qatar is one of the countries that are helping the Gambia in its preparedness to host the OIC summit in 2022.