FIFA World Cup 2022

[ghazi52]

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Saudi expecting tens of thousands of World Cup fans: minister​

AFP
October 26, 2022

Saudi Arabia is putting on 240 flights a week and easing overland travel to attract tens of thousands of football fans attending the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, the kingdom’s tourism minister told AFP on Wednesday.

The efforts are intended to jumpstart the nascent tourism sector in the once closed-off kingdom, which only began issuing tourist visas in September 2019 — just months before the coronavirus pandemic decimated the industry globally.

With prices high and accommodation options limited in Doha, Qatar’s Gulf neighbours are expected to soak up an overflow of fans, organising more than 160 daily shuttle flights between them and relaxing visa requirements.

Conservative Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is illegal, has offered multi-entry 60-day visas to holders of the World Cup’s Hayya pass, the compulsory permit available to ticket-holders.

Weekly flights from Saudi to Qatar will soar to 240 during the month-long tournament, up from six normally, tourism minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said on the sidelines of an investor forum in Riyadh.

For overland travellers, officials have upgraded roads from Riyadh and cities in eastern Saudi Arabia — which are closer to Qatar — to the border, Khateeb said.

They have also expanded petrol stations, internet connectivity and access to first aid and other medical services along the route, he said.

A newly launched 10-lane border crossing “doesn’t take you more than 10 minutes” to pass through, he added.

Facilitating cross-border travel could give ticket-holders a Saudi alternative to lodging in Doha, where more than one million fans are expected.

“I think we are ready when it comes to transportation, mobility, airlines, airports, borders, healthcare, telecommunications. We’re ready and excited,” Khateeb said.

“We can’t wait for the World Cup to start and we can’t wait to welcome our guests from all over the world.”

He added: “We are working with the (destination management companies) and the tour companies in Europe and Latin America and Asia, and we are expecting tens of thousands of packages to be sold.”

 

[ghazi52]

How have people been protesting?​

Australia's football squad has released a video urging Qatar to abolish its laws on same-sex relationships.

In the video, the squad also criticises Qatari employers for their treatment of an estimated 30,000 migrant workers who have been building facilities for the World Cup finals.

Many workers are said to have died or been injured because of poor health and safety measures on building sites.

Denmark's football players say they will wear a "toned-down" all-black kit to protest against Qatar's human rights' record.

England's captain Harry Kane, along with the captains of nine other teams from Europe, will wear 'One Love' armbands to protest against Qatar's anti-homosexuality laws.

England captain Harry Kane says he will wear the rainbow-coloured 'One Love' armband in Qatar 2022 matches
Paris, and other French cities, are refusing to screen World Cup matches in public areas, despite France being the defending champions.

British LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says he was "arrested and detained on the kerbside" while protesting in Qatar's capital, Doha.

The Qatari government has said claims of an arrest are "completely false".

Why was Qatar chosen as the World Cup host?​

In 2010, Qatar clinched the rights to the World Cup after winning a ballot of Fifa's 22 executive members. It defeated bids from the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

It is the first Arab nation to host the tournament.

Qatar was accused of paying Fifa officials £3m ($3.7m) in bribes to secure their backing, but was cleared after a two-year investigation.

At the time, Fifa's then-chairman, Sepp Blatter, supported Qatar's bid, but has since said the organisation may have made the wrong decision.

What can World Cup fans expect in Qatar?​

Qatar, which has a population of 2.9 million, is one of the world's wealthiest countries thanks to oil and gas exports.

It has built seven stadiums specifically for the tournament.

More than 100 new hotels, a new metro and new roads are also being constructed.

As a conservative Muslim country, drinking in Qatar is normally restricted to bars in luxury hotels. A pint of beer can cost £10 ($13).

World Cup organisers say that during the finals, alcohol will be served "in select areas within stadiums", for three hours before matches and for one hour afterwards.

Alcoholic drinks will also be available in a 40,000-capacity fan zone in Doha, and there will be zones where drunken fans can go to sober up.

Why is the World Cup not taking place in summer, as usual?​

The World Cup finals are being held between 20 November and 18 December - when the temperature in Qatar is usually around 25C (77F).

Had the finals been held in June and July, as they normally are, the matches would have been played in temperatures exceeding 40C and possibly reaching 50C.

Qatar initially proposed to host the finals during the summer in air-conditioned enclosed stadiums, but the plan was rejected.

What's difficult about holding the World Cup later in the year?​

November and December are busy months for European football clubs. Many leading players will be called up to play for their countries at Qatar 2022.

European leagues including England's Premier League, Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga are suspending their seasons a week ahead of the international tournament.

Matches will restart after the competition has finished.

 

[ghazi52]

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SPORTS

Qatar World Cup: 12 years of disputes​

PARIS: Qatar will host one of the most hotly disputed World Cups ever from November 20. These are the main disputes...

AFP
November 1, 2022

PARIS: Qatar will host one of the most hotly disputed World Cups ever from November 20.

These are the main disputes that Qatar has fought since FIFA made the decision 12 years ago:

The surprise vote

FIFA leaders created a sensation on December 2, 2010 when Qatar beat the United States in a fourth round of voting for the 2022 World Cup. US President Barack Obama called it the "wrong decision".

At the time only one of the eight World Cup stadiums existed and many doubts were raised about whether the energy-rich state would be ready to host one million football fans.

Corruption allegations

In August 2012, FIFA's ethics committee starts an investigation, led by former US prosecutor Michael Garcia, into voting for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, head of the committee's adjudicatory chamber, said in his summary that Qatar and Russia had been cleared of wrongdoing. Garcia hit back that the summary was "materially incomplete".

The report was finally published in June 2017. It highlighted some suspect financial transactions but nothing to justify taking the World Cup from Qatar.

Since 2019, France has had a corruption inquiry into a lunch on November 23, 2010 between President Nicolas Sarkozy, UEFA president Michel Platini -- who provided four European votes -- and two senior Qatari officials.

French media later reported a diplomatic note on the lunch which said the World Cup, fighter jets and anti-missile defences would be discussed.

The winter World Cup

In January 2014, FIFA's secretary general Jerome Valcke said that the 2022 World Cup would be held in the winter months of November-December for the first time because of the fierce heat in Qatar during June-July when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit). In 2015, the FIFA executive committee confirmed that the dates would be November 21 to December 18. The opening game was brought forward to November 20 so that it would feature Qatar.

Qatar’s eight World Cup stadiums

Europe's top leagues are annoyed because it means they will have to stop playing for more than a month.

World Cup casualties

Amid growing criticism of Qatar's human rights record, the International Trade Union Confederation released a damning report, "The Case Against Qatar", which said migrant labourers live in "squalor" and work in "unbearable heat".

Under pressure from international unions, Qatar starts major reforms from 2017 including dismantling most of the 'Kafala' employment system that meant labourers could not change jobs nor even leave the country. It introduced a minimum wage and new regulations on working in heat.

Human rights groups say thousands of workers have died on Qatar's mega construction projects over the past 15 years. ITUC disputes the figures and its leader said in 2022 that Qatar had made significant progress that made meant it had no objection to the World Cup.

The International Labour Organisation quoted government figures as saying that 50 workers died in industrial accidents in 2020.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other groups launch have demanded that FIFA and Qatar launch a compensation fund for migrant workers with $440 million, the figure given in World Cup prize money. Several sponsors and national federations back the call.

The rights of women and the LGBTQ community in Qatar also come under international scrutiny. Homosexuality is a criminal offence. World Cup organisers say that all fans will be "welcome" without discrimination but do not defend the laws.

World Cup environment debate heats up

FIFA has said that the 2022 World Cup will be the first 'carbon neutral' tournament, raising the ire of environment campaigners.

A FIFA report released in June 2021 estimates that the 2022 World Cup will be responsible for 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, against 2.1 million tonnes for Russia 2018.

The Carbon Market Watch environment group says that the footprint of Qatar's eight stadiums has been under-estimated by up to 1.4 million tonnes.

Qatar organisers highlight how having eight stadiums in the Doha region means there will be no flights between cities and that emissions are also reduced by a new electric metro system and the use of electric buses. Critics say that more than 100 shuttle flights a day from other Gulf cities will increase carbon emissions however.

Qatar has air conditioning in seven stadiums but it is not yet clear whether it will be used.

 

[Paitoo]

I usually start salivating for the FIFA world cup about 12 months before it starts. This time no such excitement. Qatar as a venue simply doesn't cut it.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

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World Cup 2022: Awarding Qatar the tournament was a mistake, says former Fifa president Sepp Blatter​

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter says the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a "mistake".

Blatter, 86, was president of world football's governing body when Qatar was awarded the tournament in 2010.

The Gulf state has been criticised for its stance on same-sex relationships, human rights record and treatment of migrant workers.

"It is too small of a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for it," he told Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger.

The Qatar World Cup, the first to be hosted in the Middle East in the tournament's 92-year-history and the first during the Northern Hemisphere winter, takes place from 20 November to 18 December.

Blatter said Fifa had adjusted the criteria used to select host countries in 2012 after concerns were raised about the treatment of migrant workers building World Cup stadiums in Qatar.

"Since then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account," he added.

Blatter spent 17 years as Fifa president but was forced to step down in 2015 over allegations he unlawfully arranged a transfer of two million Swiss francs ($2.19m; £1.6m) to former Uefa president Michel Platini, who was also forced to resign from his position at Fifa.

He was originally banned from football by Fifa for eight years, later reduced to six, over the Platini payment. In March 2021 he then received an additional ban until 2028 for "various violations" of Fifa's code of ethics.

Blatter and Platini were charged with fraud last November but were found not guilty at a trial in Switzerland in July.

The decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively has been dogged by accusations of widespread corruption, with two investigations launched by Swiss prosecutors and the US Department of Justice in 2015.

Qatar and Russia have always denied any wrongdoing, and both were effectively cleared by Fifa's own investigation in 2017.

 

[ghazi52]

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1590328488313376776

 

[ghazi52]

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The Qatari Ministry of Defence has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU) with its Pakistani counterpart, outlining the technical arrangements for the provision of ships by the Pakistan Navy for seaward security throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

 

[Maula Jatt]

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The Qatari Ministry of Defence has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU) with its Pakistani counterpart, outlining the technical arrangements for the provision of ships by the Pakistan Navy for seaward security throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

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damn this guys a midget...

 

[Stryker1982]

England's captain Harry Kane, along with the captains of nine other teams from Europe, will wear 'One Love' armbands to protest against Qatar's anti-homosexuality laws.

England captain Harry Kane says he will wear the rainbow-coloured 'One Love' armband in Qatar 2022 matches
Paris, and other French cities, are refusing to screen World Cup matches in public areas, despite France being the defending champions.

 

[ghazi52]

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Arab fans' World Cup fever cooled by Qatar costs​

Exorbitant accommodation, transport prices irk football lovers willing to witness first mega event in region

AFP
November 14, 2022

DUBAI: Qatar's World Cup will be the first on Arab soil but despite excitement in the Middle East, the fervour is not universal in a region usually united by its passion for football.

Although the November 20-December 18 tournament is geographically close for many Arab fans, high costs are a problem as a cocktail of crises and economic woes plague much of the Middle East and North Africa.

"Accommodation and transport costs are exorbitant," said Makram Abed, who runs a 40,000-strong Facebook fan page for Tunisia's national side, one of the four Arab teams qualified along with Qatar, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Qatar "could have offered preferential prices" to fans in the region, Abed told AFP, although Qatar says it has subsidised the cost of accommodation available on its official portal.

Abed was one of several fans contacted by AFP in a straw poll of supporters across the region, whose population is more than 400 million.

World Cups have traditionally attracted more affluent supporters than weekly club football, whose fanbase is often working-class, football historian Paul Dietschy told AFP.

The World Cup in Qatar "reinforces" the universal trend of a growing gap between the rich and the poor, Dietschy said.

Even in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which has the Arab world's largest economy and shares a land border with Qatar, fans said the costs were prohibitive.

"You have to take out a loan to attend the three (group) matches," said 25-year-old Saudi student Mouhannad, who asked not to be identified by his full name.

According to FIFA, Qatar has topped the list of countries for World Cup ticket purchases, which neared three million.

Gulf neighbours the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are also among the top 10 ticket-buyers.

In fact, Saudi Arabia has made more accommodation bookings than any other country, according to the Qatar organising committee.

Egypt, considered an Arab football hotspot, did not qualify but some there still plan to travel, including Amr Mamdouh who is looking forward to his Gulf visit.

"Flights to Qatar cost half as much" as those to Russia which hosted the 2018 World Cup, he said.

Thousands of Arab expatriates living in the Gulf will also board the daily airlift of more than 160 shuttle flights laid on between Qatar and its neighbours.

They include Fadi Bustros, a Lebanese living in Dubai, who will take the one-hour flight to Doha and return the same day.

But Bustros fears a "real World Cup atmosphere" may be lacking, given controversies around Qatar's hosting and the unprecedented scheduling in winter rather than summer, when many fans prefer to travel.

In Morocco, authorities have announced subsidised flights to Qatar, but they still cost around $760. For Yassin, a 34-year-old Moroccan who attended the 2018 World Cup, the discount is not incentive enough.

"A World Cup is synonymous with a beautiful atmosphere, human encounters, carelessness, celebration," he said.

"Qatar does not meet this criteria."

Yassin bought tickets to watch Morocco but then cancelled his trip because of "restrictive" rules in conservative Qatar, where entertainment options and access to alcohol remain limited.

Fellow Moroccan Wassim Riane, who also went to the World Cup in Russia, said he too will skip the trip to Qatar, "a country without a football history or a culture of celebration".

Football landed in the Arabian peninsula in the 1970s, with the influx of oil companies and expatriate workers – much later than the rest of the Middle East, which was subject to French and British colonial rule.

In Egypt, the first football clubs were created after World War I.

According to Dietschy, football fandom follows two trends in the Arab world.

In countries such as Morocco, Iraq, Syria, and Algeria, "football is popular and attracts crowds" in stadiums, said Dietschy.

But in other countries, including Qatar, football is "more of a show that is watched on television" as well as a tool of "soft power".

 

[ghazi52]

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1592981220484255744

 

[Bengal71]

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Qatar emir slams ‘unprecedented’ campaign against World Cup hosts​

AFP
October 25, 2022

DOHA: Qatar has been hit by an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism over preparations for the football World Cup, its ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said Tuesday, calling the attacks “defamation”.

“Since we won the honour of hosting the World Cup, Qatar has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign that no host country has faced,” the emir said in a speech.

FIFA awarded the World Cup to Qatar in 2010 and it has since spent tens of billions of dollars on preparations.

But the energy-rich Gulf state has faced constant scrutiny over its treatment of foreign workers as well as LGBTQ and women’s rights.

“We initially dealt with the matter in good faith, and even considered that some criticism was positive and useful, helping us to develop aspects that need to be developed,” the emir told Qatar’s legislative council.

“But it soon became clear to us that the campaign continues, expands and includes defamation and double standards, until it reached an amount of ferocity that made many wonder, unfortunately, about the real reasons and motives behind this campaign,” he said.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the Qatar World Cup, the first in an Arab nation, will be the “best ever”.

The "unprecedented campaign" wasn't enough as it failed to move the world cup from Qatar to elsewhere. With the way the fvcking Arabs treated the slave labor from the subcontinent to build those stadiums, no campaign is enough. I hope there are some meteor strikes on the stadiums built by slave labor.

 

[Abid123]

I hope there are some meteor strikes on the stadiums built by slave labor.

That will only kill more people.

 

[Bengal71]

That will only kill more people.

On the empty stadiums of course, not when a match is going on.