The moment of truth for Qatar’s ability to organise the FIFA World Cup after years of failed overtures and criticism over labour rights and strict laws has come.
Predicaments began mounting as early as December 2010 when
it was announced that Qatar would host the finals amid a storm of international
criticism.
“For me it is clear: Qatar is a mistake, a bad choice,” Sepp
Blatter, the former president of world football’s governing body FIFA, said
last week.
But it was his administration that oversaw the awarding of
the 2022 event’s hosting rights to Qatar.
Always held during the close season of the majority of
leagues, it was difficult to maintain such a schedule now.
Temperatures are presently reaching more than 45 degrees
Celsius in Qatar’s blazing summers.
Two studies carried out by FIFA in 2014 and 2015 were enough
to conclude that it would be impossible to hold the tournament in June/July,
prompting the move to November and December.
Constructing the new stadiums witnessed many controversies
regarding labour rights, amid media reports that thousands of foreign workers
either lost their lives or were mistreated in the process.
Qatar responded by altering its labour laws to contain
global dismay.
Additionally, Qatar’s strict Islamic laws against LGBT
rights or alcohol consumption faced yet another storm of criticism.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar,
dispelled widespread fears recently.
He told the United Nations General Assembly last September
that his government was ready to welcome everyone from around the world without
discrimination.
Qatari Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Barshim, a World Cup
ambassador, said the tournament is an opportunity to unite people.
“The World Cup will positively impact our society by
showcasing our culture to the world and by helping people create friendships
and build networks.
“It is a golden opportunity to change negative perceptions
about the region and create new and meaningful connections,” he said in an
interview with the Qatar 2022 website on Wednesday.
Qatar will be the first team since Italy in the second World
Cup in 1934 to participate in the finals for the first time as a host.
This is a team hosting without having previously qualified
for the tournament.
They need to avoid a similar fate to that of Switzerland,
Chile and South Africa, who all hosted but exited the finals in the group
stages in 1954, 1962 and 2010.
That is why the Qatari team has undergone a thorough process
of preparing for the tournament.
It started by appointing Spanish coach Felix Sanchez in
2017, whose knowledge of the region helped him guide Qatar to the 2019 Asian
Cup title, winning all matches in the process.
Sanchez’s men raised eyebrows with a number of notable
performances, including a 3-1 defeat of Japan in the final.
The team continued its preparations by rubbing shoulders
with South America’s best through their participation in the 2019 Copa America.
Nonetheless, the experience proved to be a little too much
for the team as they finished bottom of their group following defeats by
Colombia and Argentina and a draw against Paraguay.
Qatar, similarly and upon special request, took part in the
CONCACAF Gold Cup last year.
There they showed improvement by topping their group and
beating El Salvador in the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to the U.S in the
semi-finals.
The team will be under pressure by fans to achieve the
desired results on home soil.
This is especially after the Qatari Federation’s decision
not to allow their players to play for their domestic clubs since the beginning
of the current season.
This was in order to devote themselves to preparations for
the finals.
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