FIFA President applauds Qatar's World Cup preparations

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Sunday, February 26th 2017 06:29 AM

DOHA: FIFA President Gianni Infantino applauded the infrastructure development being carried by Qatar, hosts of the 2022 World Cup. “A lot has been done by the authorities (already). Great progress has been made,” Infantino told reporters at the end of two-day FIFA Executive Football Summit which concluded in the Qatari capital. “We have full confidence in everyone. The Qatari government and Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) are fully committed. A lot is still to be done but I am confident everything will be ready well in time,” the 46-year-old added. Infantino said Qatar has hosted top flight football games including staging the Italian Super Cup finals a few times. The FIFA President also said that he didn’t foresee any problem in the expanded World Cup in 2026. “I still struggle to find any negative in the 48-team World Cup (formula). Most of the countries are happy and some are unhappy. We are open to discussion with the ones who are unhappy,” Infantino said. Meanwhile, the two-day summit which concluded in Doha saw representation of Presidents and general secretaries of around 40 football bodies from all around the world. “It was an intense meeting about football development. The idea was to exchange expertise of football between countries,” Infantino said. “We held similar meetings in Singapore, Paris and Miami and we felt the same summit should be held in Doha which is an important international hub,” he said.