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One week from kick-off Globalism The Cup trophy returned to Qatar on Sunday, and teams and fans began arriving and safety barriers were erected across Doha ahead of one of the most contentious football tournaments ever.
Read also | Qatar announces the squad for the 2022 World Cup
The trophy, which will be awarded to the winning team on December 18th, has returned from a world tour in time for the opening match next Sunday, when hosts Qatar take on Ecuador.
But FIFA’s pleas to “focus on football” have struggled in the face of the international spotlight on Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBT community. Qatar has angrily dismissed most of the attacks, and on Sunday local media criticized the “arrogance” of some Westerners. Countries.
“It seemed to be all we’d read about him in recent weeks,” said Ringo Gonzalez, an Ecuadorian based in Germany, who was among the fans gathered for the World Cup countdown clock on Doha Beach early Sunday.
“It would be nice to see the teams finally do something. I want Ecuador to do well and see Lionel Messi and the other big names in action.”
The USA team has already arrived in Doha and Australia will join them on Sunday. Qatar expects more than a million fans for the smallest country to host the World Cup, and many of them have arrived in the capital.
Many of the stars are still playing for their European clubs on Sunday in the final matches before the season pause for the World Cup.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have all been named in Paris Saint-Germain’s starting line-up against Auxerre in Ligue 1.
In Doha port, the giant cruise ship, MSC Europa, was scheduled to be officially named Sunday before it greeted thousands of World Cup fans.
No champagne to label the ships
In a concession to Qatar’s Islamic culture which restricts alcohol and prohibits gambling, a bottle of rose water was to be smashed against the ship’s hull instead of the traditional champagne at the opening, and the ship’s casino was to be closed while in port.
Three cruise ships will hold up to 10,000 fans, and MSC said Europa was fully booked for the first two weeks of the 29-day tournament.
On the ground, barricades have been erected on main streets, around metro stations and stadiums as security forces prepare to invade football.
Organizers say 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold, and scores of fans have waited outside the FIFA Ticket Center hoping that scarce tickets will become available for the most important matches.
Matthew Coleman, an Australian living in Doha, and his Dutch friend Jess Pinker left empty-handed because there were no “fun” matches available.
At a nearby World Cup souvenir shop, employees said that Europeans who buy the official ball or mascot for the game are the main customers.
South Asian migrant workers have bought thousands of fake shirts from Brazil and Argentina and can be seen wearing them on the streets. Workers have been at the center of an often acrimonious dispute over deaths, injuries and their working conditions since Qatar won the World Cup in 2010.
European and Qatari media on Sunday continued their war of words over whether the energy-rich Gulf state should host the event.
A British newspaper said that many fans believe that Indians in Qatar have been “paid” to participate in the rallies in support of Argentina and Brazil. Thousands of migrant workers flocked to the rally on Friday.
In response, the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq said that the anti-Qatar campaign “confirms the arrogance of some Western countries that believe that organizing the World Cup should remain their monopoly.”
Al-Raya said: “The enthusiastic and festive atmosphere that prevailed in Doha by large crowds of football fans of different nationalities revealed the failure of the defamation campaigns led by some Western media and politicians against the 2022 World Cup.”
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