The Qatar World Cup Organizing Committee announces the signing of an agreement to organize a tournament without plastic pollutants

As part of its continuous efforts to promote environmental sustainability and host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, without plastic pollutants, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy announced a partnership agreement with the Seven Clean Seas Foundation, which is concerned with combating plastic pollution in the seas, oceans and rivers around the world, with the aim of continuing to build a sustainable legacy. In the field of preserving the environment for the World Cup hosted by Qatar in less than a year and a half.

In light of the partnership agreement between the two sides, Seven Clean Seas will work with the authorities concerned with organizing the 2022 World Cup to raise awareness about plastic pollution, prepare plans to reduce plastic waste, and then compensate plastic waste resulting from the activities of hosting the tournament, by contributing to the removal of plastic waste from rivers and oceans. The world is equal to the waste generated by organizing the tournament, which guarantees hosting an exceptional version of the World Cup without plastic waste.

Engineer Bodour Al Meer, Director of Sustainability at the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: “Reducing waste has been an essential part of our efforts since the start of our preparations to host the World Cup and the start of building stadiums for the tournament. Since then, the sustainability strategy for Qatar 2022 has succeeded in launching many initiatives aimed at To raise awareness about waste reduction, waste recycling, and reach the highest global rates of recycling.”

She added, “The partnership agreement with Seven Clean Seas will help us in our efforts to raise awareness about plastic pollution, improve the plans and strategies of the Supreme Committee to reduce plastic waste, and contribute to the purification of rivers and oceans of this waste, which is a first step at this level.”

The Qatar 2022 World Cup sustainability strategy includes a comprehensive set of initiatives to reduce emissions associated with the tournament, including building energy-efficient stadiums, adopting low-emissions transportation, and adhering to sustainable waste management practices at stadium construction sites. In addition to hosting a tournament without plastic waste; The Qatar 2022 World Cup will be the first carbon-neutral tournament in the history of the World Cup.

Tom Peacock Nazel, founder and CEO of Seven Clean Seas, said: “The latest estimates indicate that approximately 11 million tons of plastic find its way into the world’s oceans annually, which is equivalent to approximately 50 kilograms of plastic pollution per meter of coastline. There is no doubt that this plastic waste poses a serious threat to marine systems and life, as well as to birds, coastal communities and of course to human health, so everyone must take responsibility and act quickly to take all necessary steps to reduce plastic pollution.”

He added, “In our quest to contribute to these efforts, we have succeeded in developing a strategy to help individuals, businesses and events determine their plastic consumption, reduce unnecessary consumption and offset essential use by investing in environmental projects that directly address the problem in the most affected locations in the world. So far, we have succeeded in removing more than 200,000 kilograms of ocean plastic, and there is no doubt that our partnership with major events and events such as the Qatar 2022 World Cup will enable us to enhance this positive impact on the environment and keep it clean and healthy for future generations.”

It is noteworthy that the sustainability strategy for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, issued by the State of Qatar in cooperation with the International Football Association (FIFA), focuses, in addition to environmental considerations, on instilling sustainable behaviors through five main pillars, including human, social, economic and governance related to hosting the tournament.

About the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy

Al-Mughaisib explained that the State of Qatar established the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in 2011, to be responsible for implementing the infrastructure projects necessary to host an impressive historic version of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, and to develop plans, and carry out the operational processes that Qatar conducts as a host country for the first edition of the The World Cup in the Arab world and the Middle East, with the aim of contributing to accelerating the wheel of development and achieving the country’s development goals, and leaving a lasting legacy for the State of Qatar, the region, and the world.

The stadiums, other sports facilities and infrastructure projects that we are overseeing in cooperation with our partners, will contribute to hosting a close and interconnected tournament, based on the concept of sustainability, accessibility and movement in a comprehensive way. After the tournament ends, the stadiums and the surrounding areas will become vibrant centers of community life, forming one of the most important pillars of the legacy that we are working to build for the benefit of future generations.