Iran Expects 100,000 Soccer Fans For World Cup In Qatar

Iran and Qatar have signed six agreements for closer cooperation in air and sea transport, particularly during the 2022 FIFA World Cup scheduled for November-December in Qatar.

During a ceremony on Iran’s southern island of Kish Monday, Iranian road minister Rostam Ghasemi and Qatari transport minister Jassim bin Saif Al-Sulaiti inked documents over accommodation, and air and maritime transport for those attending the soccer tournament.

Qatar is expecting 1 million visitors. Iran and Qatar plan 400 direct flights between Kish and Doha, as well as four cruise liners linking Iranian and Qatari ports, during the event. Kish island, off the southern coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf, is 270km from Doha, only 40 minutes by plane and five or six hours by sea. It expects to host nearly 100,000 soccer fans.

Last week President Ebrahim Raisi spoke by telephone with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss Iran’s role in the World Cup through Kish and other islands nearby.

Iran’s team has been drawn in Group B of the competition along with England, the United States, and the winner of European playoffs between Ukraine, Scotland, and Wales. Iran beat the US 2-1 in the 1998 World Cup in France, its first ever victory in the competition.