Qatar media hails 'guts, gumption and glory'
Reuters - Friday 03 December 2010, 13:09
DOHA - Qatar's media on Friday hailed the
"guts, gumption and glory" of the tiny Gulf Arab State's victory
in securing rights to host the 2022 World Cup.
"The young bid team successfully swayed FIFA's ageing
executive committee with promises of a colourful, compact and
carbon-neutral World Cup," The Peninsula newspaper said on their
front page.
That Qatar was able to persuade FIFA decision makers came as
a surprise to many, and the country rejoiced exuberantly on
Thursday night in outdoor cafes and along its seaside corniche.
"The crescendo of car horns reflected the mood of a proud
nation last night," the Gulf Times stated.
Some, though, advocated getting straight down to business.
"We did it, now let's get down to work," was the title of an
editorial piece in The Peninsula.
Over the next five years, Qatar will build a $25 billion
rail network, an $11 billion new airport, a $5.5 billion new
deep water seaport and a $1 billion crossing linking its new
airport with mega-projects in the northern part of Doha. It will
also spend an additional $20 billion on new roads.
Others reassured local readers that the event will pose no
threat to traditional Qatari customs.
"We are already living with people from so many
nationalities, so visitors coming from various countries around
the world would not pose any threat to Qatari identity and
culture," Sheikha Al Jafairi, a member of the Central Municipal
Council, told The Peninsula.