The football body is in talks with 2022 World Cup host Qatar to cancel mandatory vaccine requirements for next year’s tournament potentially.
FIFAÂ is reportedly in talks with Qatari authorities to get rid of the mandatory vaccine requirements for spectators and fans attending next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
According to a familiar anonymous source to the Associated Press, the officials are discussing the possibility of fans, players, and officials being able to provide proof of recovery or negative PCR tests instead of vaccination documents.
This has not been confirmed to be true by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy or the Qatari government.
In June, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani confirmed that the host country would require fans attending next year’s tournament to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Qatar has previously said it would be prepared with at least one million doses of the Covid-19 shots to vaccinate non-vaccinated fans attending the World Cup 2022.
Al Thani stressed that Qatar would not allow fans to enter stadiums without receiving the full doses of the vaccine.
“We are currently negotiating with a company to provide one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to vaccinate non-vaccinated people coming to World Cup Qatar 2022,” he said.
“Qatar, as the host country, will provide the safeguards required to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition,” FIFA said in a statement. “All attendees must follow the travel advice from the Qatari authorities and the latest guidance from the Ministry of Public Health. Full information on COVID-19 safety measures will be communicated to all client groups as we approach the competition.”
On Sunday, FIFA offered direct encouragement for football players to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
“We encourage COVID-19 vaccinations and endorse the World Health Organization’s position: Safe, fair, and equitable access is critical in all countries. Players should not receive priority access to vaccines,” said the global football body.
In late September, Qatar’s cabinet announced the easing of more Covid-19 restrictions as daily coronavirus community cases in the Gulf state continued to drop.
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