DOHA, Sep 27: Qatar is spending about $200 billion to prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is 17 times more than Russia invested in organizing the tournament in 2018, The Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
For the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab world, to take place from November 20 to December 18, Qatar has built seven new modern arenas, as well as upgraded the old Khalifa International Stadium, the newspaper said, adding that the construction of the arenas cost about $6.5 billion.
According to the report, the tournament’s executive director of communications, Fatma Nuaimi, said that the remaining amount of money was spent on facilities as part of Qatar’s development and modernization strategy.
The previous highest spending figure was $15 billion by Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. (UNI)
