For Better or Worse, Qatar Plays Host to World Cup 2022

As a lifelong soccer enthusiast and one who has been involved in the sport professionally for over forty years, I am very much looking forward to watching the competition. I visited Doha for ten days a couple of years ago while attending a global soccer conference in the runup to the games. Unlike previous World Cups, I have truly mixed emotions about visiting Doha again to watch in person other than to be among soccer fans but I will not be there for these games.

There has been a lot written and said about the awarding of the games to Qatar. Many accusations of massive acts of bribery and collusion have been directed at the tiny, wealthy, Arab nation as well the sport’s governing body, FIFA. Additionally, there have been concerns about Qatar’s human rights violations, the welfare of tens of thousands of workers who were brought in to build the entire infrastructure: a public transportation system, roadways, housing and seven stadiums needed to host the games. Qatar had none of the facilities or capabilities necessary to host the world’s largest sporting event. Everything but one stadium had to built from the ground up and that one existing stadium needed major renovations. Given all the criticism, Qatar is considered by many as a prime culprit in the practice known as Sportswashing - the practice of unsavory regimes and nations seeking to cover up criticisms of their policies by using sports to appear mainstream.

Qatar claims a total of three workers died during the construction phase leading up to the games. This would be almost laughable if it wasn’t such a tragic distortion of the truth. The Guardian newspaper estimates the number is more than sixty-five hundred workers perished. Most of these workers were migrants from underdeveloped countries who worked excessive hours for the equivalent of about $1.50 an hour. They were housed in substandard quarters, not allowed to leave the country without permission and forced to work in temperatures that regularly reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some people question why FIFA would consider a host nation with no history in the sport. FIFA’s response this week was to ask everyone to focus solely on soccer for the duration of the games. In doing so, FIFA did nothing to enhance its own image which has been severely tarnished over the past couple of years with issues of graft and corruption. Obviously, for soccer to grow, it does have to pursue opportunities outside of the traditional hotbeds of the sport. On the other hand, as a Muslim country, Qatar has very rigid cultural and social restrictions carrying harsh punishment related to the manner of dress, alcohol, dating, women’s freedoms, and LGBTQI+ rights. This tiny nation’s citizens will be vastly outnumbered by tourists during the games. Visitors may unwittingly stray from the host country’s rules and face harsh consequences. As an example, if a man takes off his shirt in public at a place other than a swimming pool or the beach he will almost certainly be arrested for indecent exposure. It is a nation of about three million people, most of whom are expats. Only about four hundred thousand residents are Qataris. it’s estimated over a million and half visitors are expected for the games.

An online blog called Fans for Fans had someone drive from the northernmost stadium to all seven of the other stadium locations. Visiting all eight stadiums took about two and half hours. The farthest stadium from Doha is about twenty-eight miles away. The nearest is about four miles from the capital city. This makes lodging and transportation super easy for fans but raises the question of what this tiny nation will do with eight world-class stadiums after the World Cup. One of the stadiums (Stadium 941) is constructed of that number of shipping containers and will be dismantled after the games. But of the other seven? It’s estimated Qatar spent in excess of $200 Billion to prepare for the games. By comparison, Russia spent $18 Billion to host the most recent games in 2018.

I laughed when I heard a Qatari official being questioned during a TV interview about preparations for the games. He spoke of how Qatar is a nation of warmth and hospitality. During my visit, I experienced the “warm” part. It was damn hot. As an example, I asked the hotel concierge what there was to do in town and he directed me to the Arab History Museum, and he couldn’t think of another thing to do except shopping and a pro tennis tournament that was taking place. He graciously offered to get me tickets to the tennis event but he pointed out that due to the excessive daytime heat the event started at 11:00PM! I skipped it.

From the minute I got off the plane at the Doha airport I was stunned by the lack of hospitality, blatant harshness, and down right nastiness I witnessed. Arriving at my hotel, the driver was forced to stop well down the driveway. As a safety precaution, vehicles were not allowed at the front of the building. Passing through the main entrance, I was greeted by guards dressed in Polo shirts (these are frowned upon as immodest anywhere other than the U.S. hotels) and khakis with AK-47 like automatic rifles. Every person entering the hotel was required to put all of their luggage and packages on the conveyor belt like you see at any airport. We had to show our ID, empty our pockets, and pass through a metal detector to enter the hotel. The hotel grounds were breathtakingly beautiful but I found the military gunboats that cruised the property’s shoreline to be a bit off-putting.

I met a very pleasant desk clerk from Ethiopia who was very gracious and sat with me for a few minutes to explain the Qatar culture. Qatar is a nation that not so long ago was populated by nomadic tribes. The tribes didn’t trust each other, and that suspicion of others remains a key characteristic directed at all foreigners, especially Americans, whose vast military presence in the country is considered by the locals to be somewhat of an occupying force. This lovely Ethiopian woman holds a master’s degree, ran a large Paris manufacturing facility for a few years and was polished, sophisticated, bright, and articulate even in her less than perfect English. She took this job in Doha, at an American hotel, to master English which she felt she needed to advance her career in the world of global corporate manufacturing to which she intends to return. She admitted that as a foreigner, she too faced a high degree of prejudice from the Qatari people. Shortly after our lobby interaction there was a knock on my door. It was the desk clerk with a waiter carrying a tray of Arab delicacies, pastries, fruit, and Coca Cola which was being offered to me as a courtesy of the hotel. Every day of my visit, this supply of goodies was replenished. I learned it was not a standard service offered to all guests. Both the desk clerk and the waiter declined the gratuity I offered in recognition of their thoughtfulness.

A colleague and I decided one afternoon to go exploring in Doha. We happened upon a massive, brand new (as is almost everything in Doha) shopping mall. It is a pedestrian mall that stretches for many blocks. We arrived a little after 11:00am to find it was a ghost town. There wasn’t a single person in sight anywhere except for a security guard. He happened to speak English, so we asked him why the place was deserted and he pointed out that this was the hottest time of day when people don’t come out. He encouraged us to wander around and check out the stores. They were all open and staffed but there wasn’t a customer to be found.

We entered many of the stores, not to shop, but to marvel at the splendor. All I can say is while the retailer names were familiar, the interiors of these stores were unlike anything I had ever seen. They are nothing short of opulent. The fixtures, finishes, elaborate tile work, artwork, tapestry and details were spectacular.

We also noticed this walking mall of many blocks was surrounded by luxurious looking skyscrapers that were obviously filled with hundreds if not thousands of apartments and condominiums. We asked the security guard “Who lived in all these units?” He answered, “No one.” They were built for the many visitors anticipated for the World Cup. Qatar and the real estate developers are hopeful the visitors will be so enamored they’ll purchase units as permanent or vacation homes. No story of my time in Doha would be complete without sharing the one bright moment, aside from the desk clerk encounter, that happened when my colleague and I were visiting the ancient labyrinth-like marketplace known as Souq Waqif that loosely translates to “Standing Markets.” It’s a series of narrow streets that could be considered more like alleys with shops on either side. These shops resemble rows of attached one car garages with three walls and a front that is fully open. Each street offers a different category of goods. One was all manner of spices; another was birds of every type and size. Women, in particular jam this street at night looking for the perfect bird to buy and take to the desert where they will release it in the hopes it brings good fortune. The next day, shopkeepers go into the desert and collect the birds to resell that night. One street was tailor shops that only offered men’s clothing. That clothing was limited to one style called a thobe. It’s a long white garment worn over loose pants. A headdress known as a ghutra (or gutra), in white or red and white cloth is secured with a black rope called an agal. In shop after shop, from floor to ceiling, shelf after shelf contained bolts of white linen - nothing else. One shop carried bicycles in every color imaginable, stacked on their sides in piles to the ceiling. It was comical to watch the shopkeeper try to steady a pile of fifteen bikes as he wiggled out from the bottom of the pile the one bike the child selected.

At one of the entrances to the marketplace is a large public square. A two-story restaurant with a wall of glass looks out on the square. Inside the glass wall is a massive TV screen facing the square. The audio is pumped out into the square where a couple of thousand men gather to watch soccer games, and drink tea.

My colleague and I wandered into the square just as a game was starting between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Because all the seats were taken and a crowd had formed, elbow to elbow in the aisles, we stood near the back. The audio was in Arabic, which neither of us knows a word of, but we are both long-time soccer coaches, and we knew both teams very well. We began quietly conversing and analyzing the play on the screen. The Qataris around us took note, probably because we were the only two Americans in a sea of Arabs and our English stood out. Suddenly, the men around us began to create a space, like the parting of the Red Sea, and gestured for us to move forward, deeper into the crowd. One of the men understood English and began translating our running narrative observations of the game to others in the crowd. They seemed almost giddy about our understanding of the game. Big smiles, pats of the back and fist bumps were exchanged every time we made an observation about what was happening on the screen.

We left the square at halftime because we were hungry and wandered over to the restaurant row that was also housed in the marketplace. Every place was packed with fans watching the game. So as not to miss any of the second half we hopped into a tiny pizza place that told us they had an open table. Unfortunately, it was in a hallway off the dining room and did not offer a view of the TV. Shortly after being seated, a British woman came to our table and said that she and her children were getting ready to leave and asked if we’d like to move to their booth which was directly in front of the TV. We looked at each other in amazement. How lucky could we get? As it turns out, we were the only customers in the place ordering food. Every seat and square inch of aisle was jammed with people watching the game but not buying anything. The waitress had to climb over people to deliver our food but we got to enjoy a delicious meal and watch the second half from the best seats in the house.

The point of this story? Aside from the kindness of a desk clerk, and a kind restaurant patron, the only time I felt even remotely welcome or safe in Qatar was when I was crammed into crowds of fellow soccer fans; proving once again that the game is the same everywhere you go on this planet and is truly a global unifier. I determined the best way to follow FIFA’s advice to stay focused on the soccer was to do it from the comfort of my own home. As I watch the games of this World Cup I will reflect on the experiences I shared with the soccer fans in Doha.