Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf found out about the final preparations for the World Cup in Qatar.
The SPD Minister responsible for top-class sport spoke to the Secretary General of the World Cup Organizing Committee, Hassan al-Thawadi, in the Qatari capital Doha. To provide more space for pedestrians during the World Cup, the Embankment – one of Doha’s central thoroughfares – was closed to regular traffic from Tuesday.
Before the start of Faeser’s visit, the Qatari government had complained because the German sports minister had publicly criticized the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar. Ahead of her scheduled meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Interior Minister Khalid bin Chalifa Al-Thani, Faeser said she did not believe this would overshadow her visit to the Arab country. You have always shown a “clear attitude”. And “in my view, that doesn’t matter here,” said Faeser.
After the meeting, it was said from delegation circles that the Minister of the Interior had received a security guarantee for all fans, especially members of the LGBTIQ community, from the Prime Minister.
According to information from delegation circles, Al-Thawadi said he regretted that the Federal Government’s Human Rights Commissioner, Luise Amtsberg, had canceled her trip to Qatar at short notice. Participants reported that the meeting with the head of the organizing committee took place in a friendly atmosphere. Amtsberg had canceled her trip, which should have started at the weekend, because the extent of the upset in Qatar was still unclear at the time, according to Faeser’s statements.
The World Cup finals in Qatar begin on November 20th and end with the final on December 18th.
