QATAR COUNTS DOWN TO WORLD CUP KICK-OFF AFTER $200BN SOFT POWER BET / THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Qatar counts down to World Cup kick-off after $200bn soft power bet

Doubts over whether the wealthy gas nation can deliver have persisted ever since it won the host rights in 2010

Simeon Kerr in Doha

© Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images

The sounds of building work and heavy machinery fill the air across the Qatari capital, and video displays count down the days until the wealthy Gulf state will be at the centre of the sporting world.

In just over a month, Qatar will host the Fifa World Cup, the most prestigious event in international football, capping a journey that began in 2010 when the gas-rich country won the host rights in a vote that is now widely discredited.

Yet doubts over whether Qatar can deliver for Fifa, the 32 competing nations, the estimated 1.5mn attending fans or the billions who will watch on television have persisted over those 12 years. 

Soft infrastructure, such as accommodation and leisure amenities, are seen as a particular weakness.

“We’re a month away from the event and some of these questions are still being asked,” said Tarik Yousef, director of the Qatar-based Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

Qatar marks a break in the traditions of football, a sport that cherishes its heritage. 

It will be the first time a World Cup has been held in the Middle East, and the first time a country with such limited football pedigree — Qatar’s men rank 50th in the world — has been chosen as host. 

The sport has also torn up its schedule to play the month-long tournament in the midst of the European club season, because blazing Middle East summers are just too hot.

Yet it is a seminal moment for the small state, which has spent $200bn on World Cup infrastructure in an effort to ensure the project succeeds. 

Eight stadiums, seven of which are air-conditioned, have been constructed or refurbished, along with a new metro system and international airport.

“For Qatar, the World Cup became a catalyst for focusing attention, resources and getting everyone aligned within the system and society at every level to deliver on this commitment,” said Yousef.

The Lusail Stadium will be hosting the World Cup final on December 18. A football match held here last month was beset with queues, problems with the air conditioning and shortages of water © Matthew Ashton/Getty Images

The World Cup is the pinnacle of Qatar’s petrodollar-fuelled soft-power strategy to project its global influence, but it has brought the unwelcome glare of international scrutiny.

Doha has been accused of bribery and not doing enough to alleviate conditions for the poorly paid foreign workers who built the stadiums and infrastructure. 

Its questionable human rights record, including repression of LGBT rights, and an authoritarian system of government that tolerates little opposition or dissent have been highlighted. 

The government has denied corruption allegations and points to improvements in legislation affecting labourers. 

Amnesty International has called for Fifa to match the tournament’s prize money with a $440mn fund to recompense abused workers. 

“The past cannot be undone, but a compensation programme is a clear and simple way that Fifa and Qatar can provide at least some measure of redress,” said Steve Cockburn, the advocacy group’s head of economic and social justice.

The influx of World Cup visitors will put unprecedented pressure on Qatar, a country of 3mn people, mainly expatriates, unaccustomed to mass tourism. 

Finding places for fans to sleep, eat and drink — football supporters are notorious for consuming large quantities of alcohol around matches — has created a huge headache.

“The stadiums are there, but the soft underbelly could be the soft infrastructure,” said one consultant working on World Cup projects. 

“They’ve had 12 years to prepare, but they’re still cobbling things together.”

Contracts to set up restaurants and other attractions were awarded too late, the consultant explained, with companies unable to recruit enough new staff and so cannibalising an already squeezed labour pool.

Former England footballer David Beckham, right, and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar at a match in Doha in December © David Ramos/FIFA/Getty Images

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, brother of Qatar’s ruling emir, has taken a lead role in overseeing final preparations via a trusted executive who is “writing cheques” and “intervening everywhere” to ensure timely delivery, the consultant added.

From November 1, offices across Qatar will largely shift to work-from-home arrangements under a rolling lockdown to create more space for visitors. 

Schools will close for the duration, while non-essential workers are being sent back to their home countries and vehicles taken off the streets to ease traffic.

The stadiums were completed ahead of schedule. 

The Lusail Stadium, which will host the World Cup final on December 18, welcomed the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian champions last month, but the match was beset with queues, problems with the air conditioning and shortages of water that left fans sweltering.

A multinational security force, under Qatari command, has been assembled to keep the peace, with thousands of police from Jordan, Morocco and Turkey, as well as soldiers from Pakistan, drafted in. 

But they have not been tested working together, raising concern among some western officials.

The government has pledged to take a pragmatic approach to crowd control, such as dealing with non-violent drunken fans, rainbow flag-raising protests from activists or other political statements.

But many Muslim residents of Qatar have expressed alarm at the prospect of daytime drinking coinciding with the call to prayer. 

Many families are leaving for the entire month to avoid any chaos.

Qatar has said it has 130,000 rooms, the equivalent of 3.64mn nights over the tournament, sufficient to provide “comfortable inventory” for both fans and teams. 

What visitors will do when not attending matches is another question.

The Gulf nation is not known for its tourist attractions, beyond its art museums, or the quality of its nightlife. 

Organisers will encourage fans to exploit the short distances between venues by going to more than one game a day. 

Sightseeing visits to neighbouring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have also been promoted as something to fill the hours.

Many fans are expected to base themselves in more laid-back Dubai, a one-hour flight away. 

Qatar Airways is running 16 special daily flights from Dubai to Doha during the first phase of games to December 2.

As the clock ticks down to the November 20 opener, when the hosts take on Ecuador, the task of converting the former interior ministry on Doha’s seafront into a branch of the glitzy Ned hotel chain is ongoing. 

Dignitaries are expected to be housed there during the tournament.

Regular fans will choose from apartments, villas and hotels, as well as cruise ship cabins and even tents set up in special fan zones, although many prospective visitors have complained of exorbitant prices, and contractors said a number are still under construction.

“Yes, it’s all a bit last minute dotcom,” admitted one official, before adding: “But Qatar has the money to make it work.”