(Additional reporting: Joey D’Urso)
Despite all the self-promotional and hyperbolic rhetoric, we are ever closer to the truth. World CupFinals in November: The organisers have presented at least one fact.
Qatar” FIFA proudly on its website, will “produce a World Cup like no other”.
It’s amazing. This tournament, despite all the controversies it may cause, will not be like any other.
A tiny, oil-and-gas-rich nation perched on the Persian Gulf is about to welcome international football’s strongest 32 teams and an estimated one million visitors. Eight new stadiums and a £27billion ($29.8bn) subway system have been specially built inside a patch of land smaller than Yorkshire.
Although Qatar’s victory in the 2010 World Cup bidding process was marred by corruption, it has made significant improvements. However, there are still questions about the countdown: is Qatar really ready to host such an event?
Organisers don’t have any doubts. This is Qatar’s big moment, they insist. This is Qatar’s golden opportunity to be seen as a rising force in the eyes of the world.
Others are skeptical. With less than eight weeks left, it is unprecedented that a World Cup has been packed into such a small space. Reassurances about accommodation, transport, and security are still being sought.
It is essentially a World Cup hosted in one city. It is not even a very large one.
Organisers point towards games held in Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan and Lusail – cities in their own right – as evidence this is a tournament for Qatar but they amount to suburbs of the capital, Doha.
