“We are a minority in our country,” Mr. Khater said of Qataris, “so we have experience dealing with that. And we do understand that there are going to be people who are not used to our culture, that wouldn’t have been here long enough to understand the norms of what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate. And it’s our job to make sure we educate people about our culture as much as possible. And it is also our duty and responsibility to make sure people here are as hospitable as possible.”

Foreign journalists have been arrested in recent years for “defaming” the country. Qatar sometimes censors international news outlets. Nevertheless, Mr. Khater said, they would be ready for thousands of journalists — many of them not focused on soccer.

“The past eight years, I can safely say that the skin of the country has gotten thicker,” he said. “I can say that by 2022, the skin is going to be a lot thicker. We’re going to have to be a lot more tolerant.”

In Russia, for example, the authorities mostly looked the other way for the past two months as international fans and residents alike partied on the street, drinking (in violation of the law in many cases) and singing and dancing well into the morning hours.

The next World Cup will most certainly not look like that, Qatari officials said. Mr. Khater said he “might consider” designated drinking zones, but he said alcohol would be “more restricted” than in previous World Cups. That may prove difficult; the World Cup often takes over the host country with its own energy, and the sheer scale and diversity of the crowds can sometimes make moderating their behavior a challenge, something Qatar 2022 executives learned firsthand in Russia.