Oliseh’s Plaudits for Qatar over Hosting of World Cup

*Attributes Morocco’s semifinal feat to hard work, planning 

Former Super Eagles Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, is awed by the quality of competition and facilities provided by Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the first time in the Middle East. 

Oliseh who is on duty as a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group and has been involved in 32 matches here, admitted on Wednesday night that Qatar have surpassed all expectations in terms of facilities provided to host the tournament. 

“Look around you here at this Al Bayt Stadium alone, you will be amazed that the facilities are amongst the very best any where in the world,” began the former Eagles captain who played club football at Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus before hanging his boots. 

He pointed out that if a country in the middle of a desert can turn their place to what Qatar have done, it shows “their leaders know what they are doing. You need to meet the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who trained at the prestigious Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom and listen to him talk. You will know exactly why Qatar has made the kind of rapid progress the whole world has seen here at this World Cup.” 

Apart from the magnificent stadiums with cooling systems and uninterrupted power supply, the former Nigerian international pointed out how the host country provided a spare turf few metres away from the main-bowl pitch that can be substituted in case of any drop in quality of the one in use. 

“I have never seen where such is done in all my years in football. Qatar surpassed all known yardsticks in measuring successful hosting of the World Cup,” enthused the TSG member in a chat with top Nigerian sports journalists covering Qatar 2022. 

Oliseh was particularly excited with Morocco, the first African team to make it to the semi final of the World Cup. “Morocco’s success didn’t come through prayers. They worked hard to earn where they reached here at this World Cup. Getting to the semi final, for me was a big deal for Morocco. With the talents in Africa, it shows that with better management, Africa can win the World Cup.” 

He expressed sadness that Nigeria failed to make the cut and attributed it to not doing the right things for football development in the country. 

Four years ago, Oliseh had predicted that Morocco, based on their developmental strides, may become the first African team to qualify for the semi final of the World Cup. The Atlas Lions shocked European powerhouses like Belgium, Spain and Portugal to reach the Last 4, only to be beaten by Lionel Messi inspired Argentina last Wednesday.