A week after kick-off, the World Cup trophy returned to Qatar on Sunday as teams and fans began arriving and security barriers went up across Doha ahead of one of the most controversial soccer tournaments ever.
The trophy, which will be presented on December 18, returned from a 51-country world tour for next Sunday’s opening match between Qatar and hosts Ecuador.
The International Football Association’s call to “focus on football” has been hard to heed, however, amid international spotlight on Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community. Qatar has angrily denied most of the attacks, and local media on Sunday blasted the “arrogance” of some Western countries.
“It seems like that’s all we’ve read about in the last few weeks,” said Ringo Gonzalez, an Ecuadorian living in Germany, who was among fans gathered on the Doha boardwalk Sunday for the World Cup countdown clock.
“It will be good to finally see the team doing something. I want to do well in Ecuador and see Lionel Messi and other big names in action.”
The United States arrived in Doha and Australia was due to join them on Sunday.
But many star players, including Messi and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, took part in European club competitions before heading to the World Cup on Sunday.
Qatar expects more than a million fans to be in the smallest country to host a World Cup, and many have arrived.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said all flights were fully booked for the World Cup.
“We’re fully booked in November and December,” Baker said at the naming ceremony for MSC Europe, one of three cruises that will host 10,000 fans for the World Cup.
– There is no champagne to name the ship –
In a concession to Qatar’s Islamic culture, which limits alcohol and bans gambling, a bottle of rose water was smashed on the hull instead of the traditional champagne for the opening. While in port the ship’s casino had to be closed.
MSC said all three ships were fully booked for the first two weeks of the 29-day tournament.
On land, fences have gone up on main streets and around metro stations and stadiums as security forces deal with the soccer invasion.
Organizers said 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets had been sold and scores of hopeful fans waited outside the FIFA ticket office in the hope that scarce passes for the main games would be available.
Matthew Coleman, an Australian living in Doha, and his Dutch friend, Gijs Beenker, left empty-handed because there was no “interesting” match.
At a nearby World Cup souvenir shop, staff said the main customers were Europeans who bought the official ball or the La’eeb mascot.
Migrant workers from South Asia have bought thousands of replica T-shirts from Brazil and Argentina and are seen wearing them on the streets. Workers have been at the center of a bitter conflict over deaths, injuries and working conditions since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010.
The European and Qatari media continued a war of words on Sunday over whether the event should be held in the energy-rich Gulf state.
A British newspaper said that many fans believed that Indians in Qatar had been “paid” to participate in rallies for Argentina and Brazil. Thousands of migrant workers came to the march on Friday.
In response, the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq said that the campaign against Qatar “confirms the arrogance of some Western countries who believe that hosting the World Cup should be monopolized”.
Al Raya said “The enthusiastic and festive atmosphere of many football fans of different nationalities in Doha revealed the failure of the propaganda campaigns against the 2022 World Cup led by some media and Western politicians.”
AFP
