The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ has acted as a major incentive to support the achievement of the Qatar National Vision 2030, which is based on four pillars: environmental development, human development, economic development and social development. It has also inspired pathways to realise this vision through governance and its policies, with the end goal of promoting sustainability across the State of Qatar.
Sustainability, in all its forms, has been a key concern for the State of Qatar from the moment it submitted its bid to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has followed optimum dust-control strategies to reduce air pollution when building stadiums, achieving a minimum four-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) for design, construction and facility management, in addition to obtaining a gold certificate for its operations.
Clean energy use has always been kept in mind throughout the various phases of constructing the World Cup stadiums. This is demonstrated by solar lighting that has been installed in parking lots and around stadiums.
Work is also underway to power cooling systems with solar panels.
Recycling, waste management and smart control systems that prevent excessive use of resources were present in all tournament venues.
In addition, the green space in the areas surrounding stadiums is estimated to be about 500,000 square metres. All of these green areas are irrigated with recycled water, which has contributed to reducing water consumption in operating stadiums by up to 40% under international standards.
The public transport system, including the Doha Metro, new bus routes and tram systems, have been developed in Lusail City and Education City.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, 25% of public buses will be replaced by electric buses during the tournament.
Development of human capability has been a key objective of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
Over 20,000 training hours have been implemented by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), which has significantly contributed to the sharing of knowledge and the renewal of experiences among work teams on a global level. Sustainability has been the core focus of the training courses undertaken by workers on various FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ projects. For example, the SC provided training courses on green building practices to over 400 specialists in the field through the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS).
Trainings did not stop there, as a series of online training courses on sustainability and major sporting events were developed for nearly 900 people across 80 countries.
Generation Amazing is another initiative aimed at promoting human development as well as sustainability at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Generation Amazing seeks to establish a better future for communities around the world and create a lasting social impact by building stadiums and providing opportunities for training and development through football.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ boosts the country’s economic profile. Throughout history, World Cup tournaments have been a major factor in supporting national economies.
All eight stadiums built to host the tournament have been possible through a partnership with at least one local company.
The designs of the World Cup Stadiums will help convert them into public facilities after the tournament. Investing in those facilities contributes to promoting a sustainable lifestyle and providing commercial opportunities for various groups.
To encourage innovation and investment in youth projects, the Challenge 22 innovation award helps start-ups and emerging companies take their products and services to the market. It also contributes to creating a competitive market, encouraging companies to provide the best services to fans during their stay in the State of Qatar.
As the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is a tournament for everyone, it was necessary to consider all. Therefore, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ edition is unique in setting standards that serve all groups, including people with disabilities.
The World Cup stadiums are designed to provide easy access to all groups to enjoy the tournament.
During the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019™ and the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup, several measures were implemented to enhance the tournament experience for people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility. These measures were tried and tested and include improvements in infrastructure, staff and volunteer training, ticketing processes and transportation systems.
The record number of people with disabilities who attended these two tournaments proved that major event organisers are capable of making improvements that facilitate access to all groups to enjoy various sporting events. In addition, safe and quiet sensory rooms have been provided at the Al Janoub and the Khalifa international stadiums.
Thanks to these sensory rooms, about 150 boys and girls with sensory processing disorders (SPD) were able to attend a football match for the first time. They also received various gifts and tools, such as noise-cancelling headphones, relaxation tools and visual table cards to help them maintain calm and focus.
Focusing on providing such atmosphere and facilities in the World Cup stadiums for the disabled made the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ an ideal tournament suitable for all, as it offered a set of inspiring ideas to help provide a similar atmosphere during the organisation of other major tournaments.
From the moment that the State of Qatar won the bid to organise the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the country aimed to organise the tournament in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals. Governance and other related policies were therefore present at all stages.
Special policies have been developed to monitor performance, compliance with management instructions and auditing. As part of these policies, systems were created to monitor the effectiveness of reporting on everything related to the progress of the tournament and the implementation of its various projects.
For example, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has taken several measures, including monitoring major local and global supply chains, to ensure that suppliers are committed to meeting the standards set by SC to achieve a sustainable World Cup edition.
To implement the government’s policies, the SC prepared and published reports related to sustainability in line with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Aiming to make future tournaments more sustainable, the SC also worked to share all the lessons learned from this tournament with FIFA.
