By Sports Reporter/Doha

The Qatar 2015 Organising Committee has held a special meeting with representatives from embassies of the 23 nations participating in the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship, as Qatar prepares to welcome thousands of sports fans in January 2015.
The meeting, which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel, outlined the progress that has been made as Qatar prepares to host the championship, as well as the wide range of services being provided for visiting teams and spectators.
Saeed Abdulla al-Eida, head of Protocol and International Relations, said: “Under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the leadership of the Qatar 2015 Organising Committee, we are working hard with the embassies to make sure that we have everything in place for their visiting delegations. Representatives from 23 countries will come to Qatar to compete in January and we need to make sure that details such as visas, accommodation and transport are taken care of beforehand so that everyone can enjoy the games. On another hand, we encourage the communities of the 23 participating countries to come to Doha to follow their teams and cheer for them.”
In order to achieve this, the Qatar 2015 Organising Committee has enabled special visas to be issued through hotels, embassies and from the airport upon arrival. To issue a visa, spectators need to submit an application three working days prior to their travel date and their passport validity should be no less than 6 months.
To ensure the very best of Doha is on display throughout tournament, VIP events will be held at the Sheraton Doha Hotel and Ritz-Carlton Doha Hotel including meet and greets, and press conferences. Teams participating in the championship will be divided in to four hotels: the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotel and Hilton Doha Hotel. The Qatar national team will be staying at Four Seasons Hotel.
The newly appointed Qatar 2015 Audience Committee also outlined its plans for creating a long lasting legacy for handball fans by encouraging interaction through spectators’ zones, special events, competitions and prizes in addition to handball games and activities.
To enable audience interaction with a global fan base the Audience Committee has requested the embassies from all 23 nations nominate one representative to join the audience team. Representatives will be from different levels, nationalities and backgrounds to create an internationally inclusive plan for the championship.
Sheikha Asma al-Thani, head of Marketing & Communication, said: “We understand that handball supporters will travel from around the world to watch their team in action, which is why we have designed our tickets website to allow people to select their tickets by team as well as venue and date.”
With the ticketing website now live, sports fans can order tickets for selected matches or by ‘Sessions’, which include all matches taking place at a particular venue on a single day.
The Organising Committee used this meeting as an opportunity to extend an invitation for ambassadors and embassy representatives from competing countries to attend the opening ceremony on January 15, 2015, which will be held at the new Lusail Multipurpose Hall.
The 24th Men’s Handball World Championship will take place in Doha from January 15 - February 1, 2015. Countries competing include Spain, France, Denmark, Croatia, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Czech Republic, Russia, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Belarus, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Iceland.