There is only one week until the start of the World Cup in Qatar. The games are played in an exceptionally dense area, as seven of the eight match stadiums are built in the capital Doha or its suburbs.
The only stadium outside the city is also not far away. The city of Al-Khor is about 50 kilometers from the center of Doha.
The density of the competition venues is illustrated by the fact that if the map of Doha is superimposed on the map of Helsinki, four of the stadiums can fit in Helsinki, two in Espoo and one in Vantaa. The farthest stadium is located south of Hyvinkää.
A total of 64 World Cup matches are played. In the initial group stage, as many as four matches are played per day, which causes logistical challenges for the tournament organizers and fans. Most of the stadiums have been built almost from scratch, and they haven’t really been tested in a real place.
A test match was played at the final stadium in Lusail in September, and the arrangements did not go well. For spectators the water bottles ran out even before the break, and the queues at the entrances stretched even more than two kilometers long. (you switch to another service)
Are Qatar and Doha really ready to receive the estimated one and a half million football fans? Will the host country’s public transport hold up and is there enough accommodation capacity? These questions have recently been raised in the international media.
– Under normal conditions, public transport here is quite functional. With current capacity limits, we will go during the Games, if that’s enough, Finland’s ambassador to Qatar Pekka Voutilainen says Urheilu from Doha.
Doha’s new metro network was completed in 2019. Five of the eight stadiums have their own metro station. According to Voutilainen, the local population has been recommended to travel to the stadiums by car so that public transport is not overloaded.
Located in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar is a smaller country than Pirkanmaa, whose 2.8 million inhabitants no less than 80 percent live in the Doha area. Many of the competition guests have chosen to stay in neighboring countries, especially in the popular tourist destination of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai.
According to Voutilainen, Doha’s airports are at capacity when football fans are flown to Qatar from neighboring countries to watch matches. Doha has two international airports.
– There is talk that there will be 60 flights from Dubai to Doha every day during the Games. Abu Dhabi and Kuwait have had similar plans. It has been calculated that during the Games, a plane will land in Doha every five minutes, and of course someone has to get off sometimes, says Voutilainen.
Luxury accommodation on a cruise ship
Another concern is the adequacy of the accommodation capacity, which is of course facilitated by the accommodation of many fans in neighboring countries. Voutilainen believes that the accommodation places are sufficient.
– If you look at hotel applications, you can still find something. There are also quite a few private accommodations available, but the prices are really high.
Fan villages have been built in Doha, where visitors to the games can be According to The Athletic (You will be transferred to another service) the possibility of living in tents or construction site containers, in temporary facilities built especially for the duration of the Games. On the eve of the Games, there is still no certainty that all Accommodation will be completed on time.
Accommodation places in temporary facilities are still for sale on the official competition website (you will go to another service). Prices start at around US$200 per night. On the website, you can only see observational photos of the accommodation, which raises questions about their completion.
Accommodation packages are also sold to Doha for luxury cruisers brought to the city for the Games. The booking portal of the official race website (you will switch to another service) still gives the possibility to book accommodation for two cruisers. The price per night for one is from 180 USD and for the other from 350 USD.
However, no ships can be seen in the ports of Doha yet.
– Cruise ships have been talked about. So far they are not here yet, but there is still time, says Voutilainen.
The mysterious final scene
The World Cup in Qatar has already gathered a lot of criticism for years because of the country’s weak human rights situation and the poor conditions of foreign workers. In terms of sports, the timing of the Games is special, as the World Cup football is played for the first time in winter.
Something about the stupidity of the organization of the competition is that Lusail, the final location, did not even exist in its current form when the competition was awarded in 2010.
– It is a new district in Doha. Every ten years, a new city is built on empty land in Doha, and Lusail is no exception. As such, it would certainly have been built even if the Games had not come, Voutilainen says.
Numerous international sports events have been organized in Lusail even before the World Cup football, such as for example golf’s European tour competitions. Qatar’s F1 race was held in Lusail last year. MotoGP has been run on the Lusail track for longer. The football stadium can hold as many as 80,000 spectators.
– It is a growing area at the moment. Some of the buildings are still empty at the moment. They are partly filled by government agencies, partly by companies and partly for residential use.
The atmosphere around the games, especially in Europe, is negative for many reasons. Criticism of human rights violations against Qatar and Fifa has increased as the games approach. Almost three million admission tickets have been sold to the Games, of which, according to Voutilainen, about 1,500 are for Finns.
will show the World Cup on its channels from November 20 to December 18.