THE 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be a roaring success, according to Peter Acheson.
The former Tipperary skipper has been living in Doha since January and arrived to a booming construction industry preparing for the tournament.
Qatar’s choice as World Cup host has been dogged by controversy after alleged corruption in the selection process and concerns over worker safety, with the searing summer climate and the country’s culture towards alcohol also in the spotlight.
But with a November kick-off on the cards, Acheson believes the Gulf state will redeem itself and make the competition a roaring success.
He told SunSport: “Everyone thinks it is like Saudi Arabia in terms of the drinking culture here, but it’s not like that at all.
“They’ll definitely want to prove everyone wrong so they’ll go out of their way to be extravagant and run everything smoothly.
BUSINESS IS BOOMING
“Those summer months are tough, but you have air conditioning absolutely everywhere.
“Sure back home you can’t go outside for six months anyway because it’s either lashing rain or it’s gale-force winds.
“Our company is going quite well because construction is booming.
“You have the infrastructure with all the roads they are building, on top of building the stadiums, which are being built from scratch.
CLUB WORLD CUP
“There is building going on everywhere and the rest of the economy is gathering from that. Doha can be compared to Dubai ten years ago, it’s catching up and getting better in terms of tourism.
“They had the Club World Cup here in December, I was actually back home in Tipp for that.”
MORE IN SPORT
Roberto Firmino’s extra-time goal brought Liverpool glory against Flamengo of Brazil in that club showpiece.
Acheson added: “That was their first trial run. They were talking about pushing the World Cup back to November, which would be perfect and basically like playing in Spain.
“It all ran smoothly. The crowds will be much bigger for a World Cup but by the time it rolls around, they’ll be ready.”