Qatar 2022 Organizing Committee Considers Reducing Stadiums As Costs Increase

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that Qatar "may reduce the number of stadiums it builds" for the 2022 World Cup as costs increase, according to Zainab Fattah of BLOOMBERG. The U.S. bank said in a note to investors following meetings with the Qatar 2022 organizing committee that Qatar is negotiating with FIFA "to cut the number of venues to eight or nine from the 12 originally planned." Qatar 2022 Organizing Committee Technical Dir Yasir Al Jamal said, "We are fully committed to delivering on the commitments we made to FIFA. The requirement is a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 stadiums. We are currently working on delivering our first five stadiums." Qatar agreed to spend as much as $65B on infrastructure "to host the world's most-watched sporting event." Bank of America Merrill Lynch Emerging-Market Fixed-Income Strategy Head Alberto Ades said that "costs are likely to exceed the bank's initial estimate" of $95B (BLOOMBERG, 4/22).