AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023/ Arrivals and Departures Director: World Cup's Legacy Contributed to Organizing Tournaments with High Professionalism

Doha, January 24 (QNA) - Arrivals and Departures Director at the Local Organizing Committee of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, Abdullah Al Emadi said that the great legacy that Qatar obtained after organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was a milestone and an important turning point in organizing tournaments with a high level of professionalism which greatly contributed to the ease of movement and the use of means of transportation by the fans in Qatar during the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. Al Emadi stated during a dialogue session organized at the main media center in Msheireb that thanks to the accumulation of experiences gained from tournaments organized in previous periods and the great cooperation between the organizing committee and partners, a comfortable and enjoyable experience was provided for football fans during the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. The tournament is witnessing a large attendance at all matches, with fans using all means of transportation in an easy and convenient manner thanks to the proper preparation by the competent transportation authorities in the country. He highlighted the value of the great development of the infrastructure of the transport sector in Qatar over the past years in the movements of crowds to ensure the efficiency of transport and communications plans during hosting major sporting events and providing quick and effective options for fans with a sustainable legacy for future generations. He pointed to the allocation of a large number of buses to transport the fans and visitors of Qatar from their places of residence to the stadiums and event areas spread across the country during the tournament. There is great care to facilitate all procedures at the various tournament sites with the aim of ensuring the fans' enjoyment and providing them with a distinctive experience. The Arrivals and Departures Director also confirmed that the arrival gates for the participating teams were chosen carefully to ensure that everything went well and to avoid crowding with passengers inside the vicinity of Hamad International Airport (HIA). Communication is also done with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the ministerial halls to receive official delegations for the tournament. Al Emadi stated that coordination operations to welcome the Saudi fans took place either at HIA or at the Abu Samra land port in order to facilitate the process of their arrival to Qatar through communication with all Gulf and Arab federations. Many private buses of the Saudi fans were also received. About 5,000 travelers were received during the period between January 11 and 15, at a rate of 5 daily flights. Coordination was made with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in order to allocate special gates for the Saudi fans and buses to transport them to the residences and stadiums. With the Saudi team reaching the Round of 16 in the tournament, Al Emadi said that the number of Saudi fans who will be keen to support their country's team will increase. There is joint coordination taking place in advance with the Saudi and Gulf federations in order to secure the movement of fans and their arrival to Qatar. He expects that the Round of 16 matches will witness a large crowd turnout and therefore there is continuous coordination. The access plan to the stadiums remains unchanged while there are also alternative plans that ensure easy access and departure for fans. Al Emadi praised the great cooperation with all parties and partners which contributed to the implementation of the arrival and departure process, especially near the end of the group stage as some teams began preparing for their departure. He affirmed that there is coordination to finalize all arrangements and procedures with the officials of these teams. The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 fans rely on buses, the Doha Metro and taxis to move around Qatar during match days which provided them with the opportunity to attend more than one match per day. The metro lines represent the main transportation systems during the tournament as they are directly connected to the stadiums that were used for the World Cup, while the rest of the stadiums are connected to a group of transportation services and rapid transit buses. (QNA)