by Alfred Omenihu fibmn
Cameroon’s soccer professional and Qatar 2022 World Cup ambassador, Samuel Eto’o is optimistic that the usual crowd that graces international football tournaments might return for the World Cup in 2022.
‘It’s 600 days to the World Cup. That’s a lot of time for things to get better and possibly get 100 percent of the usual spectacle we all experience from the fans’, Eto’o said.
Sam as he is fondly called has been living in Qatar for three years now. He is a witness to the transformation the country has gone through in readiness for the World Cup in 2022.
‘If you consider the efforts everybody is making including the World Health Organisation, WHO, it’s possible the spectacle may return at the World Cup. However, if the pandemic continues I’m sure that Qatar will take the right decisions that will be good for football,’ he said while assuring that the Middle East country is ready to host the best World Cup ever.
On the facilities he said that all the stadiums will be ready this year, noting that some are ready now and hosting matches. ‘Each time I visit any of the venues and see the magnificent structures I feel like a baby given a new toy. The sights are amazing to behold and I wish I were 10 years younger so that I could play there at the World Cup. Some of them are already hosting matches. The rest will be ready before the end of this year.’
he believes that the package Qatar is offering to the world in 2022 will be so amazing that he describes it as ‘a gift to the world.’
Eto’o who on the 7th September 2019, announced his retirement from football is regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, and he is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, winning the African Player of the Year a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.
