DOHA: Qatar is urging the four countries imposing a diplomatic and trade boycott against it to allow their nationals to attend the World Cup in Doha in 2022, a senior Qatari organizer said yesterday. “We separate politics from sports,” Hassan Al- Thawadi, secretary general at Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, told reporters in Doha. The committee is responsible for planning and operations for the tournament.

“We hope that the blockading nations see reason in this matter and allow for their people to be able to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity.” Qatar is expecting some 1.5 million fans during the tournament, the majority from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. Thawadi also said there were no regrets in bidding for the 2022 tournament, despite the “abuse” it claims it has received since being chosen as host. “It will always be worth it, it will always continue being worth it,” he said. “We suffered abuse. Did we ever regret it? No, we will never regret it. He added: “Anything of value will never come easy.”

Since controversially being chosen by FIFA to host the tournament in 2022, Qatar has found itself at the center of a global storm. It has been criticized over human rights and labor abuses and blighted by allegations of corruption. Most recently it has found itself accused of supporting terrorism as part of a bitter dispute involving Doha and its Arabian Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, as well as Egypt. The crisis, which threatens to destabilize the region, has seen Qatar politically and economically boycotted by those countries over its alleged support for extremist groups and relations with Iran.

Qatar denies the charges. The World Cup in Qatar starts on Nov 21, 2022. Doha has had to find new suppliers of construction materials for its World Cup projects since the boycott was imposed, but the timeline for those projects has not changed, said Thawadi. “Our plans are put in place, alternative supply chains are put in place and the projects are continuing on schedule and on cost,” he said. — Agencies