Football
Heading into its second World Cup, VAR still divides opinions among football fans
The introduction of VAR at the last World Cup proved one thing for sure: It’s nigh impossible to remove controversy from football even at the highest level.
The technology — short for Video Assistant Referee — has transformed the game, but not everyone agrees that the change has been for the better.
Part of the reason is that the rules of the game remain open to interpretation, so there still aren’t enough camera angles or slow-motion replays to reach a unanimous consensus for every incident on the field.
At some point, human discretion will still be required, and that opens up the potential for argument.
Even matters that can be determined using frame-by-frame evidence is not immune from dispute. A classic example would be the number of offside calls labeled to be “against the spirit of the game.”
Some argue a modicum of common sense should give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team. The logic being that a measurement that could be as small as the length of fingernail should not be enough to see a goal disallowed.
The problem, however, comes when deciding where the new bar should be set. Should it be the length of a finger? A hand? An arm?
It becomes a discretionary call — and from there comes the issue of consistency, of human error, of controversy.
For so long coaches have stuck to the mantra of wanting consistency. However unsatisfying the use of VAR is for offside calls, it is, for the most part, consistent.
Yet in October, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte was sent off for his furious reaction after Harry Kane’s injury-time goal against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League was ruled out.
“VAR is doing a lot of damage,” the Italian coach said. “I want to see if in another stadium of a big team if they are ready to disallow this type of goal. I’d like to know this.”
There was period at the 2018 World Cup when it felt like everything was a penalty — there were a record 29 at the tournament four years ago. After that came a spell when penalties were endlessly being retaken because of the number of encroachments or premature movements from goalkeepers, all of which could be meticulously dissected back at VAR headquarters.
The system has ironed itself out since then, but controversy remains.
Jurgen Klopp was critical of it in Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Arsenal in October. Pep Guardiola’s rage when Manchester City had a goal ruled out against Liverpool at Anfield a week later was a defining image of that match.
Read more: Can South America's giants break Europe's stranglehold on the World Cup?
It has also become a unifying force among supporters. They hate it.
However, the sight of the referee gesturing to review an incident on a sideline monitor is greeted with celebration in the expectation a decision will almost certainly be overruled or corrected.
Like it or not, VAR has become an intrinsic part of the game since it was first introduced to international football in a game between Italy and France six years ago.
“That was on Sept. 1, 2016, and in the six years since, VAR has not brought the ‘end of football,’ as some reported at the time, but instead it is now part of the fabric of our sport, and it is hard to imagine football without it,” former referee Pierluigi Collina told FIFA.
“VAR has been one of the biggest changes in the history of football, so it is understandable that it takes people time to comprehend and appreciate it. Encouraging players, coaches, fans and the media to better understand the technology and its uses has been a crucial goal for us over the past years.”
Collina accepts decision-making can still be too lengthy a process. Newer technology has been designed to improve that. Semi-automated offside technology will be deployed in Qatar, which will include a tracking system to pin-point the precise positions of players. In-stadium graphics will better illustrate decision-making for fans.
But that will not remove the subjective nature of officiating — and with it the potential for ever more controversy.
Read more: FIFA World Cup: Qatar’s stadiums rife with migrant labour abuse
Can South America's giants break Europe's stranglehold on the World Cup?
When Gianni Infantino told a gathering of European football officials in Vienna he hoped the winner of the World Cup came from their continent, the FIFA President quickly stated — with a smile — he adapts the comment to whichever region he’s in.
It’s no laughing matter for the rest of the world.
Seven of the last eight World Cup finalists have come from Europe. Thirteen of the last 16 semifinalists, too.
Only three non-European nations — Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay — have reached the World Cup final. Uruguay hasn’t played in the title match since 1950.
And only two non-European nations other than Brazil and Argentina have reached the semifinals since 1970 — South Korea in 2002 and Uruguay in 2010.
No African country has ever gotten to the last four — in part because of Luis Suárez’s last-minute, goal-line handball for Uruguay to deny Ghana in the 2010 quarterfinals — and nobody from North America since the United States in the first World Cup in 1930.
Nations from around the world are invited to the party but, really, it’s mostly the Europeans staying until the end.
“You want the World Cup to be a world tournament,” football author Jonathan Wilson said. “Ideally you’d have a team from every confederation in the quarterfinals.
“You want the best teams, but you want the best teams to come from as many different places as possible. This is a global sport. If it becomes entirely focused on a rich pocket of western Europe, that’s boring for everybody.”
Wilson puts the recent European dominance down to the continent’s top football nations pumping lots of money and resources into the development of young players — what he calls an “industrialization of youth production,” starting with France at its national football centre in the 1990s. That was followed by the likes of Germany, Spain and most recently England doing the same.
Read more: Players who will be absent from Qatar World Cup including Haaland, Salah
These young players are then exposed to their own football leagues, which are the strongest and richest in the world.
“You have the best facilities, the best teachers, the best people to learn from,” Wilson told The Associated Press. “Then you are testing yourself against the best.”
The only nation to have prevented a European triumph at a World Cup since 1994 was Brazil in 2002. Brazil’s coach that year, Luiz Felipe Scolari, said he had a “spectacular generation” — remember its storied front three of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho? — and that European nations are now producing better players than before, having studied the 1958 Brazil team which earned the country the first of its record five titles.
Speaking to the AP, Scolari said the current European domination is a “phase” which could be ended by Brazil in Qatar or, maybe, in 2026.
After all, Brazil will enter the World Cup as the top-ranked team, undefeated in South American qualifying and with only five losses in 76 matches under coach Tite.
“This class of 2022 is great,” Scolari said. “If we don’t win now, we can do it in 2026 with one of the best teams.
“These kids playing now might give the result we expect but you can’t pressure them to give everything. Maybe in four years, we can because then … they will hit the pinnacle at age 26, 27.”
Typically, it’s Argentina, ranked No. 3 by FIFA and a two-time World Cup champion, rivalling Brazil as the most likely winner from outside Europe. And that should again be the case in Qatar.
While Europe’s best have been struggling — England is winless in six games, France and Germany have won only one of their last six games, Italy hasn’t even qualified — Argentina has gone 35 games unbeaten under Lionel Scaloni, who has a well-balanced team with more than just a slew of star attackers led by Lionel Messi.
There’s a caveat, though. The introduction of UEFA’s Nations League — and, to a certain extent, the impact of COVID-19 — has meant top European teams go head-to-head more often and rarely face Brazil and Argentina.
Only one such game stands out since the 2018 World Cup: the Finalissima, a newly devised match between the European champions and Copa America winners that saw Argentina beat Italy 3-0 in London in June.
Argentina has played three European teams since the last World Cup. Brazil only one.
“It’s pretty hard to get a true read on them,” said Wilson, whose books include “Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina.” “It might not be the worst thing that they go into this tournament with confidence, without a sense of inferiority.”
Take away Brazil and Argentina, and it’s hard to look beyond another winner from Europe, which has the other 10 teams in the top 12 of the FIFA rankings and 13 of the 32 nations in Qatar.
There’s even greater depth to the European challenge these days, too, with nations like 2018 World Cup finalist Croatia, Euro 2020 semifinalist Denmark and Switzerland as consistent and hard to beat as the traditional heavyweights, with more of their players sprinkled around Europe’s top clubs.
As for African teams, whose World Cup challenge is fronted by African Cup of Nations champion Senegal, they still seem to be held back by a lack of resources off the field more than a lack of talent on it.
“(African countries) have so many players playing in Europe at good teams now, I think they should perform better than they do,” Lars Lagerback, who coached Nigeria at the 2010 World Cup, told the AP. “There’s a lot of challenges, so many people involved around the logistics and everything.
“They have the players with the individual skills but you have to have everything around it.”
And that, ultimately, is where Europe has the edge.
Read more: Qatar World Cup 2022: Viewer's guide
FIFA World Cup: Qatar’s stadiums rife with migrant labour abuse
Migrant laborers who built Qatar’s World Cup stadiums often worked long hours under harsh conditions and were subjected to discrimination, wage theft and other abuses as their employers evaded accountability, a rights group said in a report released Thursday.
The 75-page report by the London-based charity Equidem comes less than two weeks before the Gulf Arab nation hosts the world’s biggest sporting event, with over 1.2 million fans expected to descend on the tiny emirate for the monthlong tournament.
Under heavy international scrutiny, Qatar has enacted a number of labor reforms in recent years that have been praised by Equidem and other rights groups. But advocates say abuses are still widespread and that workers have few avenues for redress.
Qatari officials from the ruling emir on down accuse critics of ignoring the reforms and applying double-standards to the first Arab or Muslim nation to host the tournament.
Equidem says it interviewed 60 workers over a period of two years who were employed across all eight stadiums. All of them spoke to the group on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.
Workers described illegal recruitment fees that left them deeply in debt before they even started; long working hours in the desert heat and other harsh conditions; nationality-based discrimination in which the most dangerous high-rise work was reserved for Africans and South Asians; unpaid wages and denial of overtime; and verbal and physical violence.
“Fans need to know how this came about, that the stadiums that they’re sitting in (were) built by workers, many of whom were in conditions of what we would call forced labor or other forms of modern slavery,” said Namrata Raju, the lead researcher on the report.
Workers said employers had various ways of avoiding accountability, with one describing how supervisors pulled the fire alarm and evacuated workers from a site before FIFA inspectors arrived.
Read: FIFA World Cup 2022: All you need to know about Qatar's laws, customs
Qatar bars migrant laborers from forming unions, striking or protesting, and workers said they feared retaliation — including losing their jobs or being deported — if they spoke out.
“The fear of reprisal is exceedingly high,” Raju said, with workers feeling as though “two sets of eyes” are on them because of surveillance by Qatari authorities and employers.
London-based Amnesty International and New York-based Human Rights Watch have documented similar abuses. They also say that while Qatar has dismantled much of its “kafala” system, which tied workers to their employers, many laborers still face retaliation if they try to quit their jobs or go to work for someone else. As a result, some work long hours under harsh conditions for months on end without being paid.
Migrant workers make up a large majority of Qatar’s population and around 95% of its labor force. They have built sprawling infrastructure at breakneck speed since Qatar won hosting rights in 2010, including the stadiums, a high-speed metro system, highways and hotels.
They will serve meals, clean rooms and sweep the streets during the monthlong World Cup. An earlier Equidem report found similar labor abuses at World Cup hotels.
Construction workers mainly hail from poor countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. They typically live in shared rooms in labor camps and go years without returning home or seeing their families. They labor year-round, with reduced hours during the scorching summer months, when temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Read: Qatar 2022: European nations still raising human rights concerns with FIFA
Qatari authorities point to a number of steps they have taken to improve labor conditions, including enacting a minimum wage of around $275 a month, limiting the workday when temperatures soar and setting up a fund to compensate workers for wage theft and other abuses.
Asked to comment on the Equidem report, Qatar’s media office said authorities carried out over 3,700 inspections last month and have stepped up enforcement of labor laws, leading to a decline in violations.
“Equidem should encourage the respondents in its report to lodge complaints through the proper channels if they believe a law has been broken,” it said in a statement. “With this information, the Ministry of Labor will investigate companies and take the necessary corrective action, which often includes company closures and compensation for workers.”
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the government body organizing the World Cup, said the Equidem report was “littered with inaccuracies and misrepresentations.” It said reforms introduced since 2014 “have resulted in significant improvements in accommodation standards, health and safety regulations, grievance mechanisms, healthcare provisions, and reimbursement of illegal recruitment fees to workers.”
Raju said the scope of such reforms is limited by the lingering power imbalance between employers and workers.
“When a system of labor discriminates between a national and a non-national and has done so for years, it means that the entire system needs to start to shift, rather than changing one law here, one law there,” she said.
Read: Rights groups fear for workers as Qatar World Cup spotlight dims
Rights groups worry that the power imbalance will endure and potentially worsen after the World Cup ends on Dec. 18 and the international spotlight moves on. Companies are expected to slash their payrolls once the fans depart, adding to the pressure workers face to stay in line.
Equidem and other rights groups have called on Qatar to enact further reforms and for Qatar and FIFA to set up a larger fund to compensate workers who faced abuses going back to 2010, years before the existing reforms were enacted. FIFA has said it is open to the idea, which enjoys the support of several federations.
Qatar says it is focused on strengthening its existing fund, which it says has paid out over $350 million this year in compensation for work-related incidents and unpaid wages.
Rights groups are also calling for the establishment of a genuinely independent and representative migrant workers center as a first step toward legalizing unions and other forms of collective action, but there appears to be little movement on that front.
Without urgent commitment on both, Equidem says, the World Cup “will leave a legacy of exploitation and unfulfilled promises.”
Fifco World Corporate Champions Cup runners-up Bando gets warm reception from BGMEA
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) accorded warm reception to one of its members, Bando Design, for becoming runners-up in the Fifco World Corporate Champions Cup Football 2022.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan handed over a crest to Bando Design captain Md Imranur Rahman and his team at a reception programme in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Sixteen teams from as many countries split into four groups took part in the competition held in the UAE's Dubai. Bando represented Bangladesh at the event.
Faruque congratulated Bando on their achievement, saying the feat would brighten the image of Bangladesh internationally.
Read more: BGMEA Cup 2022 final on November 11
FIFA World Cup 2022: All you need to know about Qatar's laws, customs
Over a million sports fans will go to Qatar for the World Cup in November and December, a spectacle that typically turns host countries into a nonstop party. But this year may be different.
The tiny, conservative Muslim nation may show little tolerance for the booze-fueled hooliganism that has unfolded at tournaments past.
Qatar has sought to portray itself as welcoming to foreigners but traditional Muslim values remain strong in the hereditarily ruled emirate. Qatar’s judicial system, based on an interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, has drawn Western criticism for its tendency to favor prosecutors and police.
The autocratic country says it will loosen up for the unprecedented influx of tourists. But fans attending the World Cup should be mindful of Qatar’s laws and cultural customs, including policies for alcohol, drugs, sexuality and dress code.
Read: Qatar 2022: European nations still raising human rights concerns with FIFA
Here’s a look at the some of them:
ALCOHOL
Alcohol is served only in hotel restaurants and bars that have licenses in Qatar. It is illegal to consume it elsewhere. Non-Muslim residents of Doha who have a liquor license, however, may drink at home. At the World Cup, fans will be allowed to buy Budweiser beer within stadium compounds — though not at concourse concession stands — before and after games. Fans can also drink in the evenings at a designated “fan zone” in downtown Doha. Generally in Qatar, public drunkenness is punishable by hefty fines and jailing. But the head of Qatar’s security operations has said that during the tournament, police will turn a blind eye to most offenses but potentially make arrests if someone gets into a drunken brawl or damages public property. The legal drinking age is 21, and bouncers at bars often ask for photo ID or passports upon entry.
DRUGS
Qatar is one of the world’s most restrictive nations when it comes to drugs, prohibiting cannabis and even over-the-counter medications like narcotics, sedatives and amphetamines. The sale, trafficking and possession of illegal drugs may lead to severe penalties, including long-term prison sentences followed by deportation and heavy fines. Drug smuggling charges can carry the death penalty. World Cup fans should be aware of these laws when arriving at Hamad International Airport, where authorities scan bags and passengers with new security technology and have arrested those carrying the smallest quantities of drugs.
SEXUALITY
Qatar considers the cohabitation of unmarried women and men a crime, using so-called indecency laws to punish extramarital sex. However, authorities say unmarried couples can share hotel rooms during the World Cup without issue. On the streets, public displays of affection are “frowned upon,” the government tourism website says. Holding hands won’t land you in jail, but visitors should avoid showing intimacy in public. Qatari law calls for a prison sentence of one to three years for adults convicted of consensual gay or lesbian sex. Crossdressing is also criminalized. World Cup organizers have told The Associated Press that anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, can come “without fear of any sort of repercussions.” But one official warned rainbow flags could be confiscated to protect fans from being attacked for promoting gay rights in a region where discrimination runs rampant.
Read: Fans without tickets can enter Qatar after World Cup group stage
DRESS CODE
Qatar’s government tourism website urges men and women to “show respect for local culture by avoiding excessively revealing clothing in public.” It asks visitors to cover their shoulders and knees. Those in shorts and sleeveless tops may be turned away from government buildings and malls. Women visiting mosques in the city will receive scarves to cover their heads. It’s a different story in hotels, where bikinis are common at hotel pools.
CAUSING OFFENSE
Flashing the middle finger or swearing, particularly when dealing with police or other authorities, can lead to arrest. Most criminal cases in Qatar that entrap unwary foreigners involve such offenses. Many Qatari women and men will not shake hands with the opposite sex; wait for a hand to be offered. Filming and photographing people without their consent, as well as taking pictures of sensitive military or religious sites, may result in prosecution. It’s also important to tread carefully when discussing religion and politics with locals. Insulting the royal family can land you in prison. Few Qataris are likely to welcome criticism of their governance system from a tourist. Spreading fake news and harming the country’s interests is a serious and vaguely defined crime, so it’s best to steer clear of social media commentary on Qatar.
Qatar 2022: European nations still raising human rights concerns with FIFA
European nations, including England, are pushing FIFA for “concrete answers” on issues relating to migrant workers ahead of the World Cup.
The 10 nations speaking Sunday include eight with World Cup-bound teams that have committed to captains wearing One Love armbands in breach of FIFA-written rules.
Read: Rights groups fear for workers as Qatar World Cup spotlight dims
UEFA Working Group on Human and Labour Rights is pressing for a definitive response regarding a compensation fund for workers and the concept of a migrant workers center in Doha.
In a joint statement it welcomed assurances from the Qatari Government and FIFA regarding the safety of fans at the World Cup, including LGBTQ+ supporters.
But it underlined its ongoing commitment to migrant workers ahead of the tournament.
Indy Cup Football: Navy reach final round eliminating Army
Bangladesh Navy reached the final round of the Independence Cup Football 2022, eliminating Bangladesh Army by 4-3 in a tie breaker at the Bir Shreshta Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj on Sunday.
The last qualifying round match between two teams was locked at 2-2 goals in the stipulated period.
In the scheduled time,Mizanur put Bangladesh Army ahead in the 27th minute (1-0) while Habibur leveled the margin for the sailors team in the 36th minute (1-1).
Bangladesh Army again took lead in the stoppage time of the first half (45+3 minute) by a goal from Morsalin (2-1) while Raja again neutralized the margin in the 75th minute (2-2).
The 16-team final round of the meet will be held on November 13 to December 5 at three venues across the country--Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj, Bir Shreshta Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj and Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla.
Dhaka Mohammedan SC will play Bangladesh Navy in the inaugural match on November 13 in Munshiganj while Sheikh Russel KC will encounter Fortis Football Club in the other opening day's fixture in Cumilla.
Participating teams are: Group A - Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Sheikh Russel KC, Fortis Football Club and Bangladesh Navy
Group B- Bashundhara Kings, Chittagong Abahani, Azampur Football Club and Youngmens' Club Fakirerpool.
Group C- Dhaka Abahani Limited, Muktijoddha Sangsad KC, Uttara Football Club and Bangladesh Air Force
Group D- Sheikh Jamal DC, Bangladesh Police FC, Rahmatganj MFS and BFF Elite Football Academy.
Rights groups fear for workers as Qatar World Cup spotlight dims
With just days to go before Qatar hosts the World Cup, rights groups fear that a window for addressing the widespread exploitation of foreign workers could soon close.
The long run-up to this month’s World Cup has brought unprecedented scrutiny to the treatment of the millions of foreign workers in the Gulf Arab nation who built stadiums and other infrastructure, and who will staff hotels and sweep the streets during the world’s biggest sporting event.
In the face of heavy international criticism, Qatar has enacted a raft of reforms in recent years, including the partial dismantling of a system that tied workers to their employers and enacting a minimum wage — changes praised by the U.N. as well as rights groups.
But activists say abuses ranging from unpaid wages to harsh working conditions in one of the hottest countries on Earth, are still widespread, and that workers — who are barred from forming unions or striking — have few realistic avenues to pursue justice.
They also worry about what happens after the monthlong tournament ends in December, when the international spotlight moves on and employers slash their payrolls.
Qatar says it leads the region in labor reforms and that progress will continue after the World Cup. Officials from the ruling emir on down have lashed out at critics, accusing them of ignoring the reforms and unfairly singling out the first Arab or Muslim nation to host the Cup.
Qatar, like other Gulf countries, relies on millions of foreign workers, who make up a majority of the population and nearly 95% of the labor force — everyone from highly paid corporate executives to construction workers.
Qatar has dismantled much of what is known as the “kafala” system, which tied workers to their employers and made it virtually impossible for them to quit or change jobs without permission. But rights groups say much of that system survives in different, more informal ways.
Read: Qatar's World Cup stadiums won't turn into white elephants
Workers often must pay exorbitant recruitment fees, taking on debt even before they arrive. And employers can still cancel visas or report those who quit for “absconding,” a criminal violation.
“If a migrant worker walks away from a job that hasn’t paid them in several months, there’s just a real risk that they’re not going to get that money back,” said Michael Page, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Equidem, a London-based labor rights group, recently released a lengthy report documenting abuses in more than a dozen World Cup hotels, where it says workers from Africa and Asia face sexual harassment, discrimination, wage theft and health and safety risks.
Ella Knight, a researcher at London-based Amnesty International, says many migrants working as security guards or domestic helpers go months or even years without a day off, despite laws mandating at least one per week.
“Impunity remains a massive problem, so employers are just not being held to account or not being penalized in a way that prevents abuses from being repeated,” she said.
Qatari law bars workers from forming unions or staging protests, and authorities heavily restrict media access to laborers. Police detained at least 60 workers who struck over unpaid wages in August. Last year, two Norwegian reporters were detained while reporting on migrant workers.
Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan security guard who had anonymously blogged about the plight of workers, was detained for three months — including 28 days in solitary confinement — and fined $6,800 before leaving the country last year.
In an article about his ordeal, he said Qatar’s reforms “look splendid” on paper, but that the reality on the ground is different, with authorities seemingly more keen to silence dissent than penalize abusive employers.
“I can’t help but wonder what’s in store for migrant workers after the World Cup,” he wrote. “If workers still live in horrible conditions, if workers still go months without pay, if workers still can’t freely change jobs, if domestic workers still can’t get justice, what happens when no one’s looking?”
Read: Fans without tickets can enter Qatar after World Cup group stage
Qatar has defended its reforms and says it will continue to safeguard workers’ welfare after the World Cup.
“Qatar has always acknowledged that work remains to be done, notably to hold unscrupulous employers to account — as is the case with any country around the world,” Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attache in the United States, said in a statement. “We are already seeing the number of offences declining year-on-year as compliance increases among employers.”
Labor rights activists say Qatar still owes compensation to those who worked on World Cup infrastructure projects going back to the awarding of the tournament in 2010 — years before the reforms were enacted. Amnesty says authorities failed to investigate the deaths of workers during that period.
Amnesty and other rights groups now urge soccer’s governing body FIFA to establish a $440 million fund — equivalent to the tournament’s total prize money — to compensate workers, an appeal that several federations support. The global soccer body has said it is open to the idea.
Qatar established its own fund in 2018 to compensate workers who are injured on the job or who are not paid, which Al-Ansari said had paid out some $270 million this calendar year alone. He did not comment directly on the calls for a larger remedy fund.
Page, of Human Rights Watch, says the sizable payouts by Qatari authorities, which only cover claims in recent years, show the importance of establishing a larger fund to address the “very serious abuses” that took place in the several years before the reforms were enacted.
“If this is their stance now, in the heat of the spotlight, what is their position going to be — the Qatari authorities — after the World Cup, in terms of reforms and migrant worker protections, when the spotlight is off them? I think that’s really concerning,” he said.
5 rising stars to watch for in FIFA World Cup 2022
The Football World Cup is taking place once again this year, and it's one of the best places for a young player to announce themselves on a bigger stage. The likes of James Rodriguez, Thomas Muller, Lukas Podolski, Lionel Messi, and many other stars previously made the tournament their own, legitimizing their promise for their country. Qatar 2022 should be no different, and many young players will be looking forward to etching their names into folklore following a good tournament showing. Here are 5 rising stars to watch at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Five young stars ready to impact the Qatar World Cup 2022
There are many young players who are ready to rock the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament. Let’s take a look at the five footballers who can shine in the main event.
Read More: Who Stole the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy?
Qatar's World Cup stadiums won't turn into white elephants
One of the World Cup stadiums in Qatar is named after the Persian Gulf country’s international dialing code — 974 — and another is called “Education City.” They’re unusual names that hardly sound like they have links to soccer, and after the tournament many no longer will.
Qatar built seven of its eight lavish World Cup stadiums and heavily renovated another. The smallest World Cup host nation since Switzerland in 1954, Qatar has a population of 2.6 million, with only 360,000 Qatari citizens, and a limited domestic league.
So it’s questionable it needs so many large venues after the tournament, especially after the past three World Cups — in South Africa, Brazil and Russia — exposed several stadiums without long-term use.
At least Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud won’t become a white elephant, since it will disappear. The 40,000-seat arena located port-side just east of Doha was made from recycled shipping containers — 974 of them. The demountable, energy-efficient stadium will make way for a waterfront business development.
But many other stadiums won’t host any more soccer beyond this tournament and next summer’s Asian Cup — for which Qatar won hosting rights after host China withdrew citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only two top-tier teams from the Qatar Stars League — Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah — will play in their glitzy World Cup stadiums.
The majority of this World Cup’s venues will have their capacity diminished from 40,000 to 20,000 post-tournament as part of a sustainability drive. Education City is 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Doha. Half the seats will go and the venue will be used by 8,000 students across nine universities and eleven schools.
What happens those extra 20,000 seats, then?
”(They) will be offered to countries who need sporting infrastructure,” Ali Al Dosari, the stadium’s director of installations, said in a press release. “This will allow the culture of soccer to be promoted and to a greater extent the love of sport throughout the world.”
Qatar pledged to give 170,000 removed seats to developing countries.
A similar fate awaits the tent-shaped Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor City, a 60,000-seater hosting the opener between Qatar and Ecuador on Nov. 20 and soon after an eagerly anticipated tussle between England and the United States.
The plan is for the upper tier is to be removed after the tournament, allowing for further recommissioning of seats. A five-star hotel and a shopping center will be incorporated into the stadium building, and a sports medicine hospital will open.
Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: Participating countries, venues, full group phase fixtures
Good use of existing infrastructure, no doubt, but hardly leaving a soccer legacy behind. For example, the four extra stadiums built for the 2016 European Championship in France — Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Nice — are being used by those club teams for the long term.
With its gold facade and 80,000 capacity, Qatar’s gleaming Lusail Stadium hosts 10 matches, including the final. It’s only 20 kilometers (12.2 miles) from Doha, but no club will call this gleaming vessel home. In keeping with sustainable development, its future lies as a community hub with housing units, shops, schools, cafes and medical clinics. The upper-tier will become outdoor terracing for new homes.
Al Thumama Stadium is another 40,000-seater located close to the center of Doha whose capacity will be halved. The arena will then be used for soccer and other sporting events, although it is not yet clear which. A sports clinic and a hotel will open on site.
CARRY ON PLAYING
The 40,000-capacity Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, located 20 kilometers (12.2 miles) west of Doha in Umm Al Afaei, is home to Al Rayyan in the 12-team QSL; and to second-tier Al-Kharitiyath Sports Club.
The 40,000-seater Al Janoub Stadium, meanwhile, is where France begins its title defense against Australia on Nov. 22.
Al Wakrah will carry on playing matches here in the QSL after the tournament with a reduced capacity of 20,000 — a low attendance for a top-flight team compared to major European and South American leagues.
Khalifa International Stadium near central Doha dates from 1976 and was extensively renovated to hold 40,000 fans. The oft-used stadium has held the Arabian Gulf Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the track and field world championships. “The Khalifa Stadium will continue to host matches and big tournaments,” stadium director Ahmad Al Thani said.
A recent written request by The Associated Press for more comment on the stadium legacies from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy was declined.
The SC’s Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi previously said the stadiums all met sustainability benchmarks.
Read more: 5 Host Cities of FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022: A Travel Guide
“We have recycled and reused wherever possible and implemented a vast range of energy and water efficiency solutions,’” he said in a document on the stadiums. “We have used materials from sustainable sources and implemented innovative legacy plans to ensure our tournament doesn’t leave any ’white elephants.’”
So, although post-World Cup soccer legacy itself is likely to be low, it’s unlikely cash-rich Qatar will face similar financial and logistical problems other nations did after misusing public resources.
EXPENSIVE ELEPHANTS
The Montreal Olympic Stadium that hosted the 1976 Olympic Games became known as a famed white elephant that took 30 years to pay off.
Previous soccer World Cup hosts are still shelling out, too.
After South Africa spent $1.1 billion on its 10 stadiums for the 2010 tournament, half of which were new, many were later left unused or underused. This proved highly expensive for city councils left footing the bill and ended up bleeding taxpayer money.
The $600 million Cape Town Stadium offered a spectacular view of Table Mountain, but for a hefty price. It has reportedly cost taxpayers in the region of $3.5 million a year, but legacy problems were partially resolved by sharing with the city’s Stormers rugby team and hosting international rugby games.
Brazil spent nearly $4 billion building and renovating venues for 2014. Four cities in Brazil were left with underused stadiums like the $550 million Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, which even hosted one game with just 400 spectators. The 46,000-capacity Arena Pernambuco in Recife does not have a team.
Russia’s $10.8 billion World Cup price tag was inflated by loss-making arenas with high yearly maintenance. Of the 12 stadiums from 2018, only eight host top-tier matches, generally with tens of thousands of empty seats, except at Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow’s stadiums.
HUMAN COST
Qatar has been fiercely criticized for the physical and contractual conditions of workers, mostly from south Asia, needed to build stadiums, metro lines, roads and hotels.
The exact number of migrant workers who have died or were injured working in often extreme heat on projects since FIFA picked Qatar as World Cup host in December 2010 is unclear. Definitive data has been hard to verify or not published by authorities.
Qatar has set up a workers’ support fund which, since 2020, has paid $164 million in compensation to more than 36,000 workers from 17 different countries, Human Rights Watch said in August, citing government data.