Africa to benefit from Qatar 2022 World Cup hosting
By Ibrahim Sannie
The Qatar stadiums have been designed to be dismantled afterwards
Some African countries will benefit if Fifa grants Qatar the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.
As part of its broader legacy, the Arab state will donate the upper tier of some of its 12 stadiums to developing countries after the tournament.
As the country doesn't need many large, permanent venues, so they would be built with modular upper levels that can be taken down.
These structures would then be sent off overseas, for developing countries.
Nasser Al Khater, communications director of Qatar 2022, says African countries will be among those to be considered for the gift.
"We want to leave a friendly sporting legacy globally and our modular stadiums will be the right way to implement this," Al Khater told BBC Sport.
"African countries are part of this it but this will be global as we will be seeking to offer this help to developing countries.
"We have not yet decided on how it will be done but we are certain that we want to aid Fifa's quest to accelerate the development of facilities in developing countries.
"We are sure that countries across the globe that lack sports infrastructure will stand to benefit strongly and football will continue to develop."
Al Khater played down concerns over the searing heat in Qatar during the summer when the tournament is hosted, revealing plans for stadiums cooled by air conditioning.
Al Khater (right) is confident Qatar 2022 will leave a broader legacy
"We already have in our country an example of a stadium cooled by this method therefore regardless of the heat outside the temperature in the stadium will be 27C," he said.
"We have tried this for several years with the Al Sadd stadium and for all these years it has worked to perfection so rolling this out to the other stadia will not be a problem as it is part of our country's development goal."
The Qatari authorities say they will pitch for the rights to be the first country in the Middle East to host the tournament.
"The Arab region has contributed immensely to football and it is now time for us to be given the opportunity to host the World Cup," Al Khater said.
"Our fans are very passionate about the game, key players from come from this region and the people of Qatar are avid fans of football.
"Every region in the world has had the opportunity to host the global tournament and it is now our time to show the world what we are capable of doing."
Successful bids for both the 2018 and 2022 events will be announced in December this year, giving winning nations ample time to prepare for the world's most spectacular sporting event.
Qatar, which is only bidding for the 2022 event, will have competition from Australia, Japan, USA and South Korea.
The country has previously hosted global sporting events including the Asian Games in December 2006 and the World Indoor Athletic Championships earlier this year.
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