In a shakeup of the committee managing the country’s 2022 World Cup, the Emir has replaced the board of directors with members of his new Cabinet, and renamed the body to reflect its new focus on stadia-building and infrastructure development.

As part of the change, event and operational planning, as well as coordination with FIFA, are being shifted away from the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. They will now fall under the mandate of the newly formed “Local Organizing Committee.”

To reflect this new structure, Decree No. 3 of 2014 changes the name of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, which was formed in 2011, to the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

Additionally, Decree No. 4 of 2014 restructures the board, which the Emir continues to chair, to include the new ministers of the:

• Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning;
• Ministry of Finance;
• Ministry of Youth and Sports;
• Ministry of Communications and Information Technology;
• Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics; and the
• Ministry of Transport

The Emir’s personal representative has been named his deputy chairman, and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior are also on the board.

The decrees were issued on Sunday. In a statement on Monday, Hassan Al Thawadi, who remains secretary general of the renamed body, said:

“The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy will focus on constructing proposed tournament venues and projects, coordinating with local stakeholders and ensuring a lasting legacy far beyond the FIFA World Cup, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.”

This means that the revamped committee will be tasked solely with the construction and refurbishment of the World Cup stadia, as well as the training and fan zones for the tournament.

The committee will also coordinate with members of the new board of directors on nationwide infrastructure projects like the rail system and Hamad International Airport.

New taskforce

Other responsibilities will fall to the newly formed “Local Organizing Committee,” Al Thawadi continued:

“As we focus on delivery and the legacy of venues, the LOC will be working closely with FIFA, as well as undertaking all event planning, operational planning and making sure that all commitments in relation to the hosting agreement are fulfilled.”

More details about the LOC were not immediately available. But a spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy told Doha News that an announcement about who is managing the LOC would be made “soon.”

The shakeup comes at a time when Qatar is in the spotlight for maltreatment of its construction workforce, which is comprised of hundreds of thousands of expats, many who hail from impoverished countries and are vulnerable under the nation’s restrictive sponsorship system.

The development of the World Cup stadia in particular, which is expected to kick off this year with the groundbreaking of the Al Wakrah stadium, will be closely watched by many advocacy groups to ensure that they are built while adhering to international human rights norms.

Questions about rights violations will likely continue to be fielded by the newly renamed Supreme Committee, as construction falls under its mandate.

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