President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has officially left for Doha around 1 p.m. today to attend the closing ceremony for the 2022 World Cup upon the invitation of the Qatari Emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Presidential Office reported.

Until his return, Vice President Fuat Oktay will be acting as proxy, Ankara said.

Erdoğan is accompanied by several officials, including Youth and Sports Minister Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın. A semi-professional football player in his youth, Erdoğan will also watch the epic final match with Al Thani.

The France-Argentina face-off in the Qatari capital will mark the end of FIFA World Cup 2022, which kicked off on Nov. 20.

Erdoğan was in Doha for the opening ceremony, as well. He had met several key Arab leaders, including Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, at a reception that led to a sensational handshake between the two presidents.

As part of bilateral security cooperation, Ankara deployed more than 3,000 police officers and security personnel to provide security along with their Qatari counterparts for the world's premier football tournament.