Alwaght- Iran’s Kish Island is set to host teams that will participate in Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Iranian Football Federation officials have invited president of the Qatar Football Association, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, to visit the Persian Gulf Kish Island in southern Iran to see the possibilities of setting up camps for 2022 World Cup teams.
Sheikh Hamad has welcomed the proposal, but due to a lack of direct flights from Qatar to the island, the Qatari official may travel to Kish with a dedicated flight or a ship from Doha.
As soon as the dates for 2022 World Cup are confirmed, Iran would be informed about the details, the Varzesh3 news website said in a report.
Sheikh Hamad al-Thani also promised to send a high-level delegation representing the 2022 World Cup executive committee to visit Kish Island in a bid to take care of any possible lack of facilities.
Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation and his deputy Ali Kaffashian on Thursday made a trip to Qatar. During the visit, two Memorandum of Understandings were signed between Iran’s Football Federation and Qatari Football Association.
Based on one of these MoUs, Kish Island could be a tourist destination for the 2022 World Cup spectators. At the same time, it seems that a direct flight from Doha to Kish will be provided so that the island could accommodate spectators.
The Qatari side also agreed to provide Iran’s men and women national teams at all levels with special facilities and equipped academies.
Iran-Qatar ties have tremendously improved since June this year when Saudi-led Arab regimes imposed a siege on the tiny Persian Gulf state.
Early June, Saudi-led regimes severed relations with Qatar and imposed a blockade against it, accusing Doha of funding "extremism". Qatar has vehemently rejected the allegations as "baseless".
On June 22, the block, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera TV, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.
Qatar rejected all the demands, denouncing them as attempts to violate its sovereignty.
