12 years after the granting of the right to host the 2022 World Cup, the hour of truth has arrived for Qatar, which on Sunday raises the curtain on the first World Cup in the Middle East and an Arab country, accompanied by allegations of corruption and controversy on human rights in the small, gas-rich Gulf state.
The tournament, held once every four years, opens with the host match Qatar’s first-time entrants against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium in the northern city of Al Khor at 19:00 local time (16:00hrs). 00 GMT).
Various issues Qatar faced during the 12-year journey, ranging from allegations of vote buying, the emirate’s hot climate and its conservative society, to its record in the field of freedoms and human rights, particularly in dealing with migrant workers from South Asia and the LGBT community.
In the aftermath of the International Federation’s (FIFA) decision, made for Qatar over the United States in 2010, US President Barack Obama said at the time: “It’s a wrong decision.”
But the organizers of the World Cup, which cost 200 billion dollars, according to various estimates, have consistently confirmed that they have carried out extensive reforms and receive “all” visitors without any discrimination.
Gulf State officials, led by the country’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, denounced an “unprecedented campaign” of “slander” and “double standards”. Last month, he noted, Qatar witnessed a “legislative renaissance, under which basic laws governing various aspects of life and transactions in the country were completed.”
Alcohol prohibition
Friday saw a new twist, two days before the opening ceremony, with FIFA announcing a ban on the consumption of alcohol in the vicinity of stadiums and the removal of beer sales centers and limiting them only to fan areas, which it has unleashed an overwhelming wave of criticism against FIFA and the conservative Muslim country where the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled.
Football Supporters England responded to the decision with a statement, saying: “Should they be able to change their mind about this at any time, without giving any explanation, supporters would have an understandable concern if they had to meet their other accommodation commitments, transport or cultural matters.”
Some teams, through their players, sponsors or participating associations, try to send questionable messages, which FIFA rejects, such as Denmark’s request to wear human rights shirts during training, before the Scandinavian national team confirms its compliance in order to avoid fines and penalties. The objections were met on Thursday by French President Emmanuel Macron, with his request “not to politicize sport”.
After two weeks of urging teams to focus on football, FIFA president Gianni Infantino deviated from the script and chastised the Europeans for their handling of the Qatar dossier.
Al-Sabt said from the Doha media center: “Today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel like a person with a disability, today I feel like a migrant worker.”
He described the criticism of the World Cup as “moral lessons” that smack of “hypocrisy”: “For us Europeans, what we have done in the last 3,000 years, we must apologize for the next 3,000 years before giving lessons to others. These are moral lessons.” Show hypocrisy.”
As for the beer ban, he considered that football fans at the World Cup could go 3 hours without drinking beer. “I personally believe that if you don’t drink beer for 3 hours, you can live. It’s the same in France, Spain and Scotland.”
traditional tent
Qatar, which has a population of around 3 million, 90 per cent of whom are foreigners, expects more than a million fans to flock to the country during the World Cup over the 29-day tournament, but in recent months there have been raised many questions about its ability to accommodate this number. Many fans will stay in hotels, apartments, desert camps or on ships, at varying prices.
In a stadium inspired by the traditional house of poetry or tent inhabited by the Bedouin people of Qatar, and which can accommodate sixty thousand spectators, the races will officially open on Sunday.
It is one of eight stadiums built specifically for the tournament, with the exception of the symbolic renovation of the Khalifa Stadium, next to the Aspire Academy complex, in whose corners most of the prominent faces of the current Qatar national team have grown up.
Six stadiums with a capacity of about forty thousand spectators are Khalifa, 974 (formerly Ras Bu Abboud), Ahmed bin Ali (Al-Rayyan), Al-Janoub (formerly Al-Wakra), Al-Thumama and Education City, in exchange for sixty thousand spectators for the Al-Bayt Stadium and more than eighty thousand for the Lusail Stadium, which hosts the final, which on December 18, Qatar’s national holiday, will see one billion spectators worldwide.
Unlike previous editions of the World Cup, which began in 1930 in Uruguay, the competition moved from summer to early winter, due to the searing Gulf temperatures in summer, which aroused the ire of Europe’s major leagues, which forced them to freeze their competitions for at least a month.
Brazil and Argentina are candidates
The 32 participating teams were divided into eight groups, before rising to 48 in the 2026 World Cup between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
With the exception of Italy, four times world champion, heavyweights such as Brazil, record holder (5 titles) led by Neymar, Argentina (2), led by Lionel Messi, seven times best player in the world, they compete to try and dethrone 2018 champions France, led by striker Kylian Mbappe. Interestingly, the three players wear the colors of Paris Saint-Germain, acquired by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.
Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, five times the best player in the world, was the latest star to arrive on Friday as the 37-year-old bids his country its first title.
The “Don”, who has 117 international goals (a record), is playing his fifth World Cup, similar to his rival Messi (35), who gasps behind only one title missing, to climb the ranks of great giants like the Brazilian Pele and his late compatriot Diego Maradona.
Germany, four-time defending champions, most recently in 2014, are trying to make up for their disappointing last appearance, and England and Belgium are building on their semi-final reach in Russia, noting that European teams won titles last four versions since 2006 (Italy, Spain, Germany and France).
Four Arab teams are participating, similar to the last edition, namely Qatar, host country and 2019 Asian champion, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, who are trying to reach the final stage of the standings, as in 1986 and 1994, respectively, and Tunisia, which are looking to miss the group stage for the first time.
Attention is focused on the actions of players of the Iranian national team, which rejoined a political group including the United States, which defeated it at the 1998 World Cup, at a time when the country witnessed, almost two months ago, protests followed the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini (22), three days after she was arrested by the morality police for not respecting the strict dress codes of the Islamic Republic.
