One month until the most expensive World Cup and the first winter in the smallest country

He is defending the title of world champion Francewho attended the tournament as the second favourite, stands by her side ArgentinaAnd in front of them stands out in the bets Brazil (see box).

So it will start exactly in 31 days Qatar 2022, one of the most controversial World Cup, but certainly the most expensive in football, especially the first, which will be held in the winter due to climatic conditions. From the end of November until December 18when the Grand Final begins on Sunday in Lusail at 4:00 PM.

The first Winter World Cup worth hundreds of billions

With the now infamous selection on December 2, 2010, when they picked Russia 2018 together in Zurich, the Qataris themselves and FIFA chiefs ensured that it would be played in the summer. Then the reality of the climate in the Persian Gulf triumphed, as evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of decision-makers from the then FIFA Executive Committee were subsequently convicted, or at least accused of corruption, and above all expelled. From the world of football.

The richest country opened its wallets wide and spent eight completely new stadiums 6.5 billion euros. A driverless subway system that will connect five of eight places is worth it 36.5 billion. At the same time, both the main airport and its associated roads to central Doha have been extensively expanded. Everything is decorated comically with street lamps in the shape of palm trees and lots of neon.

According to an AFP survey, Qatar has invested more than 300 billion euros in infrastructure over the past ten years. For comparison, the costs of WC 2014 in Brazil amounted to 11.7 billion euros, and WC 2018 in Russia 14.2 billion. Qatar, with a population of 2.8 million, is one of the world’s richest countries, and the vast majority of infrastructure projects have been foreseen in the country’s 2030 vision.
FIFA praised Qatar’s readiness and stadiums, which are said to emphasize Arab traditions and culture. « Together we will deliver the best World Cup in history, on and off the field, » FIFA President announced these days Gianni Infantino.

There haven’t been too few stadiums since expanding to 24 teams

With an area over half the size of Slovenia, Qatar is also the smallest country to have ever hosted a soccer World Cup. If we take into account the small distances between the eight stadiums in 5 cities, then they can be compared only with the first World Cup in 1930, when the whole tournament was held in Montevideoin the Uruguayan capital, but at that time only 13 national teams participated, so that three stadiums were enough for the first performance of the event, which is now considered the largest sporting event in the world.

Since expanding the World Cup from 16 to 24 participants with Spain in 1982, no less than 9 stadiums in 9 different cities have been used in the last 10 World Cup tournaments (USA 1994). Now, all 64 matches of the tournament will be played in eight stadiums in just five cities, which are actually part of a large metropolitan area of ​​Doha.

Shedding light on the issue of migrant workers

Efforts by Qatari organizers to convince the rest of the world of a lasting legacy for the World Cup, which has been tarnished by corruption investigations and criticism of human rights abuses by migrant workers as well as environmentally questionable stadium cooling, will likely increase costs. .

Thousands of workers are still working non-stop in the finishing works of some hotels, residential complexes and roads. Thus, Qatar’s vast wealth due to natural gas allows unlimited waste of the great football needs.

The criticism of Qatar and FIFA has not subsided

But FIFA and Qatar are still under pressure from human rights activists to provide adequate compensation to South Asian workers who have died or been injured in construction fever since Qatar won the World Cup in 2010. « After the tournament, this topic will not be at the fore. It is difficult to celebrate in these matches if you know that the families of those affected did not get anything », Among other things, Rothna Begum of Human Rights Watch noted.

But Qatar says most of the criticism is unwarranted, saying reforms over the past five years have helped thousands of workers in the country. Qatari newspapers also leveled accusations « conspiratorial » European media to criticize workers’ rights and the LGBTQ movement. Qatar is one of 70 countries where homosexuality is criminalized, but the Gulf monarchy claims it « Everyone is welcome. »

Great skepticism about native species

In terms of football, WC is largely unknown in the middle of the traditional season. Clubs in continental championships and competitions are playing at an accelerating pace, injuries are piling up and many stars and national team captains are already left without a presence in Qatar. The teams will only have a few days to prepare, and the prep matches will be just preparation, so even the superpowers are well aware that there will be no mistakes in the group stage.

On the other hand, football analysts point out that the season is relatively young and still in the first half, which promises football players of the highest level, while poor coordination is water for the mill of better individuals, and at the same time the chances of surprises. are growing.

The most well-rounded national team out of all 32 teams will undoubtedly be the home team, but at the same time, since it does not play in the qualifiers, it is also among the lowest-ranked participants, as it barely ranks 50th in FIFA. classification. Domestic fans doubt their level, even if, of course, they demanded promotion from the first group.

They drew 0-0 with the Slovenes in March

Qatar will make their debut at the World Championships, and the biggest success was the Asian champion title in 2019. But since then, the match and results have not satisfied the wealthy elders, whose wishes must now be fulfilled by coach Felix Sanchez.

They have invested huge resources in preparing and shaping the member national team, years ago they have also done extensive naturalization of players from neighboring countries and Africa. But the burden of success on the field will be on the striker Akram Afif. This year, the Qataris also played a friendly match with Slovenia, on March 29, it was 0: 0 in Al Rajan. Along with unofficial matches, as well as against clubs, they are chestnut He won five times and lost three times in 17 matches. The most notable result was the summer win over Udinese (2:1), who are now the knockout champion in Serie A.

Will the opening match really be against Ecuador?

But it may happen that in exactly one month, Qatar will not play against Ecuador at all. At the Stade d’Internationale in Lausanne, Peru and Chile are vying for the Ecuadorians’ appearance in the World Cup because they played in the Ecuadorian qualifiers. Byron Castillo.

The 23-year-old full-back is believed to have been born in Colombia and is said to represent Ecuador with false documents. He participated in eight South American qualifiers, including Ecuador’s victory over Chile, before the scandal broke and his true identity was established.

According to Reuters, the parties involved will be heard on November 4 and 5, and a CAS decision is expected by November 10 at the latest. If FIFA’s decision is rejected in Lausanne, Chile will play Ecuador in the 22nd World Cup, which will have 10 days to prepare for the opening match with Qatar.