Asian Cup 2023 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) CEO, Jassim Al-Jassim said that Qatar is not just the Sports Capital of Asia, but across the world.
Qatar successfully hosted the 2022 World Cup, and is now all set to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup from 12th January 2024. The CEO of LOC, Jassim, said that Qatar continues to remain committed towards upholding the legacy of continental competition, something that they can consider as an important part of their long-term strategy.
He further said that Qatar has now grown as the Sports Capital of the World.
Speaking to reporters, Jassim said “First of all, I would like to say that I don’t think Qatar is the Sports Capital of Asia, but the Sports Capital of the World. Secondly, from a legacy perspective, it is a very important part of our goals and objectives.”
He even said that Asian Cup 2023 will be the continuation of the 2022 World Cup legacy, and Qatar has plans to further host prestigious tournaments even after the Asian Cup.
"For the World Cup, the main committee was called the Supreme Committee for Delivering and Legacy. Stating that we need to think of the legacy of every single aspect. I think right now we are first seeing the legacy of the World Cup already from an infrastructure, human resource, and sustainability perspectives. Six out of eight stadiums will be used for Asian Cup and I don't think Qatar would stop with the Asian Cup from an infrastructure perspective.
"So everything was planned based on legacy. As you see, the metro doesn't reach all the stadiums because for legacy purposes, it did not fit. But from a legacy perspective, I think we are already living the legacy of the World Cup and after that, we would be easily living the legacy of the Asian Cup.
"I think it was the right decision to bring the tournament and I don't believe this is the last tournament Qatar will be hosting."
Qatar hosted an extremely successful 2022 World Cup. The 2023 Asian Cup will be the third time in history that Qatar will be hosting a flagship continental competition after 1988 and 2011.