The one-city format of the World Cup has been hailed as a “great success” - but will never be done again.
Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, who was part of the Football Association’s bid which was beaten by Qatar to stage the 2022 tournament, says fans have enjoyed being based in one place.
The Qatar World Cup has been the most controversial in history but Dein says the organisers have put on a “sensational” event which deserves praise as a football tournament. Dein said: “Selfishly, I’d say London can do it. We’ve got the training grounds. But we’ll never see it again.
“You’ll see in the States in 2026 it will be in three different countries and it will be a different experience, this has been a unique experience and all credit to the supreme committee for delivery and legacy.
“Qatar has won a lot of friends because of this World Cup and the way it has been handled. The stadiums have been sensational, Lusail, Al Thumama, it will be a shame if they get taken down but I don’t know how they will be used. It’s a pity.
“Architecturally, they’re really beautiful. Everybody got to the stadia on time, the games have kicked off on time, the refereeing overall’s been very good, VAR largely been fine, it's been a very successful tournament.
“If you ask the fans and you ask the players if they enjoyed it, yes they have. And we have to ask ourselves, what is football without fans? The fans haven’t had to travel.
“You take the coming World Cup in three countries or when we were in Brazil, we were in Rio one day, Manaus the other, then Sao Paulo and you’re spending five hours travelling. Here, we’ve had an hour maximum.
“This has been a great World, a unique World Cup, we’ve never seen it before, we’ll never see it again. It's been a privilege to be here.”
