One year away from the World Cup: is Qatar ready?

This Sunday there will be a year left for the opening match of the Qatar World Cup 2022 and the tournament, played for the first time in a northern hemisphere winter, is rapidly taking shape.

The opening game will take place on November 21 at the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium.

The start of the tournament will undoubtedly be a relief for the organizers, as soccer will take center stage, shifting the focus away from the many off-field issues, such as the labor rights of migrant workers, that have surrounded the event.

Since Qatar is the smallest country in size (11,600 km2) to host the world Cup And as all stadiums are located in and around the capital Doha, fans will be able to attend multiple matches on the same day.

Fans from all over the world will be able to tune into their televisions for four consecutive games in one day, something unprecedented.

In this case, the last minute rush to finish the stadiums and infrastructure will not be repeated, as was the case in the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

According to the organizing committee, five of the eight stadiums built especially for the World Cup are already finished.

Two more – Ras Abu Aboud Stadium and Al Bayt – will open during the Arab Cup, a dress rehearsal for the World Cup that begins on November 30 and ends a year before the World Cup final on December 18.

The last venue to be completed is the Lusail Stadium, the venue for the final.

“For all football lovers, this will be like a toy store for a child,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said this week. “There will be eight state-of-the-art stadiums, some of the most beautiful stadiums in the world within 50 kilometers (of each other).”

Moving around Doha, according to the organizers, will not be a problem either.

“Regarding our progress, we have completed 98% of the infrastructure works,” said Fatma Al-Nuaimi, spokeswoman for the organizing committee.

Labor system

The organization of the World Cup in Qatar has been controversial. In April of last year alone, organizers vigorously denied allegations by the US Department of Justice that bribes were paid to secure votes when organizing rights were granted in 2010.

The feasibility of playing a tournament in the scorching summer heat of the Middle East caused the event to be moved from its traditional schedule and played later in the year, while Qatar’s labor system has come under heavy criticism.

The Qatari government said this week that its labor system is still a work in progress, but denied the allegations in an Amnesty International report that thousands of migrant workers are being exploited.

Amnesty’s 48-page report, Reality Check 2021, claimed that practices such as withholding wages and charging workers to change jobs were still widespread. The Qatari Government Communications Office rejected the allegations.

Since then, players from Germany and the Netherlands have worn jerseys ahead of the knockout clashes expressing concerns for human rights in Qatar and there could be more protests in the run-up to the tournament.

Qatar hopes to attract 1.2 million visitors, about a third of its population, to the tournament.

All fans must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and organizers told Reuters they hope to offer up to 130,000 rooms, which could leave thousands of fans struggling to find accommodation.

Organizers have announced only partial details on how and where they plan to find those rooms, saying the full stock will be announced in due course. Possible solutions include “fan zones” in the desert and floating hotels in the harbor.