Calling in the desert: 60 days to the World Cup in Qatar

A mock final that ended without water, without air and was defined as a "disaster", issues of sex and alcohol that are not answered, struggles to restore the image and calls for a boycott that put FIFA under pressure. 60 days to the opening of the controversial World Cup in Qatar: a snapshot

Tomer Yitzhak

09/20/2022

Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 10:30

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"We received unfair criticism from the first moment," claimed on September 8, Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the organizing committee of the World Cup, at the first press conference held by the Qataris in months. "I can say that all the infrastructures - both in sports and in transportation - are completely completed.

All that remains is light aesthetic work.”

Two days later, his statements were put to the test. It is better to test the stadium when it is full, than to host the two biggest teams of the region," Al Khater explained the choice to conduct the test of the tools with the help of Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Zamalek of Egypt.

77,757 spectators came to the festive game (in a stadium with 80,000 seats), including FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It was supposed to be a smooth test drive, but it was defined as "catastrophic" and revealed quite a few deficiencies that bring us back to 2010 and the corrupt election And already controversial, in a country that supports terrorism and systematically violates human rights as the host of the most watched sporting event in the world.60

days to the opening whistle of the first ever Winter World Cup: a snapshot.

Despite the glittering setting, the tool experiment failed.

Losail Stadium about a week and a half ago (Photo: Reuters)

About a week and a half ago, as mentioned, Al Hilal and Zamalek met at Lusail Stadium.

The game was supposed to resemble a World Cup final.

The Egyptian singer Amer Diab was invited to perform, fans came from the Saudi border and the goal was to examine all aspects: the crossing of the border and the operation of the shuttles from there, the operation of the metro, the security procedures in the stadium, the ticket scanning machines and so on.

The problems were discovered in almost every corner.

The shuttle system had difficulty coping with the amount of fans who left their vehicles at the Saudi border crossing.

With no choice, quite a few fans had to walk to the stadium for 45 minutes, when it was 35 degrees outside and terrible humidity that increases the heat even more.

Upon their arrival at the compound and in accordance with the laws in the lots, the water bottles were taken from them.

It also happens in the fields of our country and throughout Europe, a common thing.

But in Bluesail, the drinks ran out after one half.

Not only in the stands but even in the dressing rooms.

"No water, no Pepsi, no food," noted a Qatari network influencer named Hussein Al Eshak who was present at the game.

And all this, of course, under heavy heat, and while the sophisticated cooling system installed in the stadium was not working as expected either.

The match ended 1:1 and was decided in a penalty shootout in favor of Al Hilal.

The fans started heading towards the metro station, which is about 400 meters from the stadium, but then they discovered that they had to wait in a winding line that was 2.5 kilometers long. "It was such a mess," an Egyptian fan who has lived in Doha since 2004 told Reuters. "I am no longer interested To

go to the World Cup games, not if this is how it's going."

Security personnel linked arms to create a barrier that would prevent the busy entrance to the metro, while the fans crowded in and hoped not to be crushed. A "Reuters" reporter described: "It was already after midnight and the exit procedure lasted for hours.

A man with a baby in his arms cried: 'Let us pass!

There are children here.'

Another woman shouted: 'We need water, does anyone have water?'

No one responded." Qatar later reported people suffering from dehydration during and after the game, but ambulances also struggled to make their way to the area where they were supposed to be waiting."

The organizers promised to work on the necessary repair during the next two months and Infantino reassured: "I have closely examined the infrastructure and I am satisfied. I am sure that Qatar will host the greatest sporting event ever, and I can guarantee the fans a wonderful and unique experience here, even beyond the games themselves."

The innovative air conditioning system did not work as expected either (Photo: GettyImages, Eurasia Sport Images)

"One world, one home" - this is the slogan with which the organizers of the tournament try to smear the image and reduce the strong opposition to Qatar.

The goal is of course to market globalization and convey openness, but some of the burning issues from the point of view of the soccer fans who will come to the small desert state, have not yet been answered.

FIFA warned hotels and guesthouses about the discriminatory policy based on gender and the CEO Al Khater previously called on LGBT people to attend as all fans, but at the last press conference he refused to address the issue. Also to reports of increased enforcement regarding extramarital relations (which is prohibited according to Law in Qatar) No answer was given, not even regarding alcohol. Outside the stadium is allowed, inside not. But what happens to a foreign fan who enters the stands with a beer and actually risks imprisonment according to the local laws? Al Khater did not answer.

Despite this, to the smallest country that has ever hosted a World Cup, and one that has never organized an event of a similar magnitude, approximately 1.3 million tourists (including fans from Israel) will flock to watch the World Cup games that will be held in eight stadiums at a radius of 75 km. An amount of people equal to almost Half of Qatar's population. About 2.5 million tickets have been sold, hotel prices are sky-high, and neighbors the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman are opening their doors to fans who will hold an ID card and enjoy a fruitful tourist season.

"This is an opportunity to erase stereotypes," Al Khater explained. But there is one acute problem in Qatar And FIFA is having trouble erasing.

Eight stadiums over only 75 km (Photo: Reuters)

Since the controversial announcement of Qatar as host 12 years ago and the start of construction of the stadiums, more than 6,000 migrant workers have been killed.

Human rights organizations claim that Qatar did not take responsibility and did not investigate the deaths of workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries, instead labeling them as "deaths due to natural circumstances".

FIFA is under heavy pressure to compensate the families of the victims as well as other employees, some of whom were expelled from Qatar following participation in the protests and did not receive their wages. In a recent survey conducted among respondents from 15 different countries on behalf of the "Amnesty" organization, 73 percent supported FIFA using the proceeds from the tournament, estimated at about 6 billion dollars, in favor of a comprehensive compensation plan.

Over two-thirds of the respondents even clarified that they would like to hear their national teams speak out regarding the violation of human rights in Qatar.

"Football fans don't want a tainted World Cup," they explained.

It is estimated that some sort of compensation compromise will indeed be found before the start of the tournament, but the German world champion Philipp Lahm and others called for a boycott of the World Cup, and Eric Cantona joined them last week.

"Qatar is not a football country - what madness, what stupidity," the former French star wrote on social media.

"But beyond that, human atrocities take place there. There were thousands of dead who built stadiums whose entire purpose was to serve fans for two months. Everything stinks of money and everyone knows it. There are more important things than football. Instead of watching the games, I'll watch episodes of 'Colombo' that I haven't seen in a while multi".

Systematic violation of human rights in the construction of the stadiums in Qatar (Photo: Reuters)

Qatar should overcome the logistical problems.

If South Africa and Russia did it, even a country where money is pouring like oil will know how to succeed in its historic mission - as the first Arab host and in the precedent-setting winter World Cup.

The moral obstacle, on the other hand, will be much more difficult for her to pass.

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• world football

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• World Cup 2022

• Qatar 2022