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Finance minister to represent Swiss government at football World Cup

man in suit meeting Swiss footballers
Maurer (left) also met the Swiss football team, including the then captain Alex Frei, in the parliament building in 2010 (Archive picture) Keystone / Lukas Lehmann

Finance Minister Ueli Maurer will travel to Qatar at the end of November to watch the World Cup football match between Brazil and Switzerland.

Maurer is also planning to hold talks with his Qatari counterpart, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, during his visit to the Gulf state, a finance ministry spokesman told the Tamedia newspaper group on Tuesday.

The sports minister, Viola Amherd, has already ruled out a trip to the Qatar, but it’s not clear yet whether other members of the Swiss government might consider watching the Swiss team play during the tournament which is due to begin on November 20.

Left-wing politicians in Switzerland have called for a boycott of the games. 

At the last World Cup in Russia in 2018, two Swiss government ministers were among the spectators in the stadium to support the Swiss team.

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