For 12 years, Qatar has tried to justify one of FIFA’s most controversial and inexplicable decisions with huge investments: the “bought” hosting of the World Cup in a country that has never had a particularly high football culture.
The opening match of the sport’s biggest event of the year, however, painted a picture that FIFA can hardly stomach.
Ecuador managed to beat Qatar 2:0but even before the referee called off the match, most of the home fans had already left the stadium, which is 50km away from Doha.
The Government of Qatar has invested approx 10 billion dollars for the preparation of the tournament and the opening ceremony was impressive.
Already in the 70th minute of the match, the stands began to empty. At the final whistle, only 1/3 of the seats were occupied and this, mainly in the Ecuadorian sector, who were celebrating their victory.
Qatar became the first FIFA World Cup host country to lose their opening match – and there is nothing inexplicable in this.
Visitors Ecuador also failed to make it after it emerged that one of their players (a Colombian national) had forged his passport in order to be included in the squad.
Their national team has never qualified for the World Cup in 51 years and the quality of their performance on 20 November suggests Qatar have no chance of topping their group.
Their next opponent will be African Cup of Nations champions Senegal, and later there will be a match against the Netherlands, a country from the Top 10 of the major football powers in FIFA.
The organization for fans and journalists the first day cannot boast of any successes either.
Qatar has mobilized a large number of police officers to maintain order and guide visitors to the stadium. While security for the ceremony is of a high standard, the same cannot be said for the orientation of foreign visitors to Al Bait.
The stadium is only accessible by car and the roads are blocked by heavy traffic.
Meanwhile, in Doha, the police are forced to close access to Al Bida Park due to a huge crowd of fans who want to watch the match outdoors (in a place where beer is still allowed).
The view from the stadium becomes a symbol of all the absurdities of this World Cup, Spiegel commented.
Especially for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who fully defended the controversial decision to host, claiming it will be the best World Cup ever.
The nonsense started even before the start of the 2022 World Cup
The nonsense surrounding the upcoming World Cup in Qatar started before it even started and continues with the price update fans will have to pay during the World Cup. For months, one of the biggest concerns among fans has been what will happen to alcohol in the country, where it is not prohibited, but the law only allows its consumption in certain places. These will be the so-called fan zones, where tourists who have come for the World Cup will be able to watch and have beer, writes Expert.
What is the sin tax?
Alcohol prices in Qatar are among the highest in the world due to the so-called “sin tax”. This is a tax that levies 100% on goods or services that are considered harmful to society such as tobacco, alcohol, energy and soft drinks with added sugar, and gambling. The main goal is to reduce the consumption of harmful goods and increase government revenue.
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In addition, serious concerns were raised by the information that without a ticket and a seat in the fan zone or in the stadium itself, fans may not find a place to watch the matches, because in Qatar they will be broadcast only on paid channels.
Sale well for resale or ticket exchange
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Justice Ministry has issued an official announcement that anyone who “issues, sells, resells or trades” tickets to matches for the upcoming World Cup without FIFA’s permission will be fined 250,000 riyals (over €67,000). ). “Tickets transferred without authorization are invalid and may be canceled at any time without notice. Any attempt to transfer tickets violates the Pass Terms of Use and may result in civil and criminal penalties.” the message reads.
The website states that if a spectator is prevented from attending a match, they can place their ticket for resale on the official platform of the global FIFA Ticketing platform.
Overnight stays
Furthermore, many of the fans will not be in hotels, but will have to spend their stay in the so-called Fan villages – containers in the desert at a fixed price of 200 euros per night. The hundreds of containers have been placed in the desert due to the huge shortage of beds in the country.
Yet many of the participating nations report that hundreds of fans have canceled their trips due to a rather expensive stay in Qatar and the chaos surrounding the strangest World Cup ever.
