Qatar responds to UAE request

Qatar's Foreign Ministry responded to the United Arab Emirates' request for participation in the 2022 World Cup, despite the close ties between the two countries.

"It is difficult to judge the UAE's intention to propose an offer of cooperation with Qatar for the organization of the 2022 World Cup, especially in these circumstances," the spokesman said. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Lulwa Khater.

Qatar has been seeking from the start to be the World Cup for the entire Middle East and Arab world, and it is still the main will of Doha, she said in a televised statement, underlining Because of the difficult diplomatic situation, it is difficult to imagine the World Cup between Qatar and the UAE.

Al-Khater's comments came after hints from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said that it was difficult to organize the World Cup in Qatar alone, in reference to the wish FIFA to see neighboring countries participate.

"We made the decision to increase the number of World Cup teams to 48 compared to the 2026 edition, but its application marks the start of the 2022 World Cup", said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a press release. Will be different, "according to the newspaper" United Arab Emirates ".

"If we are convinced that 48 is the right number for the teams, we should not try to do it before the 2026 version," he said. A team can be difficult in Qatar alone ", which means that other neighboring countries may be involved in the organization of the next version, or that the experience of the 48 elected will be applied from 2026. "

"We are currently studying the possibility of adding 16 teams and many others, and before deciding, we need to know where there is the necessary infrastructure," he said.

Last month, Infantino told the UAE that FIFA was studying the possibility of extending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams. At a sports conference in Dubai, he added that FIFA was also considering how the Gulf States could help Qatar to host certain matches.

The Gulf region is facing the worst crisis in its history, which began on June 5, 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and have imposed "punitive measures" on the grounds that they supported terrorism.