At the half-way mark of the world's greatest football tournament, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and its stakeholders have made the most of their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Observation Programmes.

Working across five host cities, all participants are on track to translate those learning experiences into an equally memorable 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™.

The SC and its stakeholders from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, Ashghal, Ministry of Transport, Aspetar, Kahramaa, Qatar Rail, Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar Football Association, Qatar Stars League and Lusail Real Estate and Development Company have been taking detailed notes and reporting back an array of vital hosting experiences. Each observer will transmit the knowledge gained back to Qatar after the tournament as the country continues to make progress with its preparations.

The intense schedule has included attending matches, touring stadiums and FIFA Fan Fests™, finding out the organisational aspects of putting on the best possible show for fans and visiting the International Broadcast Centre, as well as Host City Observation Programmes in Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. All of these experiences have brought inspiration to the Qatari delegation.

"I'm getting goose-bumps attending the match, imagining what it will be like eight years from now in Doha, when the FIFA World Cup comes to Qatar," said one of the SC observers, Fatma Al Nuaimi, Social and Human Legacy Manager.

At the National Command and Control Centre in Brasilia the team, including representatives from the Ministry of Interior, observed the functioning of all security and monitoring aspects related to the hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

From an organisational perspective, the observers have also been sitting in on detailed presentations by FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and Host City representatives, including meeting with FIFA's Head of Operational Planning and discussing Brazil operations and plans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™. Four representatives from Match also spoke to members of the delegation on ticketing sales, hospitality, accommodations and IT services.

In Rio de Janeiro, the observers visited the legendary Maracana Stadium. The spectacularly refurbished arena will host the 2014 World Cup™ Final, with 78,838 spectators expected for the showpiece finale.Qatari observers went on a stadium tour by FIFA representatives, including examining the media tribune, volunteers centre, player's areas, VIP and VVIP sections and entrances.

In the same city they were taken on a tour of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) by FIFA, which included exploring the control rooms and learning more about the different functions between the media tribunes in the stadiums and the IBC. The group also had the privilege to visit the beIN Sports studio and see the different broadcasters hosted in the centre. They then attended the late 1-0 victory of Belgium against Russia at the Maracana Stadium.

In Sao Paulo the observers visited a FIFA Fan Fest™, attended matches and viewed the Media Centre for non-accredited media organized by the city. Observers, including the SC and Qatar Rail representatives, also met at the Sao Paulo National Football Museum with the delegation of Generation Amazing, the SC's youth ambassadors from Qatar, Jordan, Nepal and Pakistan who are currently experiencing their first ever FIFA World Cup™. Meanwhile, in the Southern-most host city of Porto Alegre, there were also vital learning experiences at the FIFA Fan Fest™ and stadium visits..

Upon their return to Qatar, the observers will present their findings and share their experiences with the rest of the SC and its stakeholders so that Qatar may learn from Brazil's preparations,as part of the SC'sstrategic objective to create a best-in-class transfer of knowledge programme on the hosting of major events.