NEWS Too hot to handle?
World Athletics Championship in Qatar casts a big shadow over 2022 FIFA World Cup
An event meant to showcase Qatar’s readiness for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has, instead, raised questions about its ability to host the world’s biggest sporting event.
Rows of empty seats at the temperature- controlled Khalifa Stadium and operational hiccups drew criticism from foreign visitors attending the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha.
The women’s marathon, which followed the opening ceremony, got things off to a bad start. Though it began just before midnight, temperatures of 32O
C and humidity above 70% meant over 40% of competitors dropped out.
Some needed stretchers and wheelchairs to leave course situated along Doha seafront, as one team official commented. “It was madness. It’s a dark day for the sport.”
“Qatar hosting the world’s third-largest sporting event reflects our readiness to host an exceptional World Cup in 2022,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani tweeted after the race began.
The marathon at least demonstrated the wisdom of moving the World Cup from its
traditional slot in June and July, when heat drives Doha’s residents indoors or abroad. The World Cup’s opening match is slotted for November 21st, 2022 - when the historical average high is 28O AccuWeather.
C, according to
The football tournament will test the rigidity of Qatar’s basic tenets. Malls feature signs warning women not to wear tank tops or shorts, whilst public drunkenness isn’t tolerated and homosexuality is illegal.
“We need to understand that this is their country and their event, but they need to remember that the World Cup is an event for the entire world,” said one visiting fan. “But this tournament isn’t promoting athletics.”
Qatari World Cup Chief Executive Nasser al- Khater told reporters that organisers were
seeking ways to lower the price of alcohol, currently only accessible to visiting non- Muslims at five-star hotels or to residents with their employers’ permission. The Qatari Supreme Committee has pledged tolerance for other cultures, sexual orientations and religions.
Qatar also faces questions about how it will permit Israelis - currently not on a list of states whose citizens are eligible for a tourist visa - to enter the country for the event, a FIFA requirement.
Representatives for the committee expect Qatar’s arenas and much of its metro system to be completed by the end of 2020, but this does not hide the fact that the Arab nation is wholly unsuited to hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.
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