Fans in Qatar
What do you know about Qatar?
location
size
religion
climate
Qatar is 11,570 km² Hokkaido is 83,452 sq km
Qatar will be the smallest country (in size and population) to host the World cup. It’s slightly smaller than Akita.
It’s population is only 3 million. What percentage do you think are foreign workers?
Due to it’s size, Qatar said this will be the most ECO-FRIENDLY world cup. Why?
85% of the population are foreign workers
People won’t need to drive or fly far distances to stadiums
Why do you think FIFA chose Qatar to host the world cup?
- (USA, South Korea, Japan and Australia were all competing to host it)
Muslim country - make history
Rich country - build everything on time
Qatar was accused of paying $5 million in bribes to FIFA voters. An investigation (by FIFA) couldn’t find evidence of this.
Many people are angry Qatar was chosen. Do you think there are any problems with choosing Qatar?
local football fans
stadiums
weather
accommodation
women
LGBT fans
workers rights
The country doesn’t have a strong football culture
They had to build 8 new stadiums to host the tournament. Do you think they will be used in the future? Are these a waste of money?
In the summer the temperature reaches 43 degrees in they daytime and it’s around 31 degrees at night. At first Qatar promised to build air-conditioned stadiums” and play the matches at night. However the situation was terrible for fans walking to the stadium and for team training grounds.
It’s a small country that didn’t have enough hotel rooms to host the tournament. Fifa requires 60,000 rooms. Qatar has 29,000 rooms now.
It is estimated that over 6500 workers, largely from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, have died constructing facilities for the World Cup
David Beckham will be paid $270 million to promote the World Cup and Qatar for the next 10 years. Many people criticized him for this. Should he have rejected the contract?
Accommodation
About 1.2 million people (fans, teams, organizers) are expected to visit Qatar for the World Cup.
Qatar has 29,000 hotel rooms now (Fifa requires 60,000 to host the world cup)
What percentage of the rooms do you think FIFA needs for players and organizers?
FIFA has kept 80% of the hotels for themselves. Many others are used for oil company employees
What can Qatar do to quickly increase capacity?
3 cruise ships are docked in Qatar with about 6000 rooms.
A tent city (1000 tents) has been built in the desert. One tent costs 60,000 yen per night. Would you like to stay in a tent?
There arefree buses from the cabin areas to the city centre and stadiums.
All the tents are air-conditioned with a fridge, bathroom, free wi-fi, etc.
4000 Cabins are being built out in the desert for football fans to stay in. It costs about ¥30,000 a night for a cabin (2 beds). Inside it looks like a business hotel. Critics say they are made from containers used on ships.
How would you feel about staying here?
Thousands of foreign workers were kicked out of their apartments so World Cup fans could stay there. Many of them are now homeless.
Also, Doha airport will have 168 more round trip daily flights from countries, especially those nearby. Many people will be able to stay in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, etc and fly in just for matches.
Is this a green World Cup?
Ps. Don’t forget the air-conditioned stadiums…
The airport cut flights from some countries during the World Cup to make more space at the airport. What countries do you think have fewer flights during the World Cup?
These are countries with few football fans. Most are South Asian countries - Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India
Alcohol:
Qatar is a conservative Muslim country.
Where can fans buy alcohol?
You are not allowed to bring alcohol into the country
No stores will sell alcohol
Only the stadiums, fan parks and 4 and 5 star hotels will sell alcohol.
How much do you think a beer will cost at these bars?
A pint of beer at hotels will cost at least ¥2200
At the fan parks you can buy alcohol from 18:30 - 1:00am. You can’t get alcohol there for daytime games
These are organized by Fifa so you can only get Budweiser.
At another fan park you drink alcohol and see this thing.
What do you think it is?
This is a techno party. This machine has appeared at Glastonbury Music Festival in the UK.
What time do you think it will start and finish?
It will be held everyday from 10 am to 5 am and you can buy alcohol the whole time
Entry will cost ¥12,000
The WORST thing is that the sports channel, that owns the rights to broadcast the World Cup in the region, is charging high prices for every place you show it so ONLY the large bars and cafes can show the football matches
You CAN’T watch games in hotel rooms because it’s too expensive. The football players won’t be able to watch games in their rooms!
What’s your opinion of FIFA now?
This is the last 32 team World Cup. Next time there will be 48 teams. Why?
The Fifa Club World Cup will also increase from 8 to 24 teams.