Imram Khan, a security guard at Al Bayt Stadium, recognizes the tourist and cannot hide his ironic smile.
“It was hard to get here, wasn’t it?” he asks.
It is the expression similar to that of Jasmin, an employee of the Al Wakrah subway station, when she is asked how to get to the Al Janoub stadium.
“It’s far away!”
The two sentences are proof that the concept of far and near can be relative. The arenas are the furthest away from the World Cup in Qatar. They are separated by 56 kilometers. There are 12 more than necessary to go from Neo QuÃmica Arena to Morumbi, in São Paulo.
For Qataris, it is a considerable journey. Partly because of the time required, but also because of the gradual change of landscape for those who travel between the stadiums. You have to cross Doha, the country’s capital, and the scenario changes drastically. There are two buildings built in the middle of the desert, surrounded by sand. Both, after the World Cup, will have reduced capacity.
Stage of the opening of the World Cup, between Qatar and Ecuador, next Sunday (29), the Al Bayt stadium will remove part of the seats to reduce the number of spectators. For the FIFA tournament, it will be possible to receive 60 thousand people. Al Janoub’s (40,000) will have the same purpose, but the seats removed, according to the organization, will be donated to other sports projects around the planet.
The concept of “far” falls apart when Qatar is compared with Russia and Brazil, the last two hosts.
To complete their three group stage games in 2018, Egypt traveled 11,770 kilometers. The fans who wanted to leave the capital Moscow to follow the match between France and Argentina, in Kazan, for the round of 16, underwent a train journey that took 17 hours.
In the Brazilian tournament, four years earlier, England left their training camp in Rio de Janeiro and flew 2,800 kilometers to Manaus, where they debuted against Italy.
“Welcome to the jungle”, was the comment of the narrator Clive Tyldesley, of the British broadcaster ITV, when opening the transmission.
In the case of the Al Bayt and Al Jamoub arenas in Qatar, it would be appropriate to say “welcome to the desert”.
The Delivery and Legacy Committee, responsible for organizing the tournament, claims that it compensated the city of Al Khor, where the World Cup’s opening stadium is located, with the construction of parks, forming a green belt that will guarantee a permanent legacy for the region. . With 200,000 inhabitants, the municipality is one of the largest in the country.
This green wave is not visible to anyone arriving from Doha, which will happen to most fans. The arena is adjacent to the road leading to Al Khor and is difficult to access on foot. The building is imposing, full of stairs that give access to the stands.
“Don’t be fooled by this area of ​​the stadium. Here it was only built for the World Cup. But for you to see the beauty of the city, you have to really enter it, not stay here”, assures Imar Khan, trying to explain that Al Khor it comes down to the football stage.
The structure of the arena resembles that of a tent, a way of honoring the nomadic people of Bayt al Sha’ar.
The time needed to go from Al Bayt to Al Janoub (and vice versa) reinforces the concept of “Pocket Cup”, used by Qatar to prove that this World Cup will be like no other. With no metro or train available in the regions, it takes about two and a half hours to get from one place to another by public transport.
This also shows, as FIFA insisted on publicizing, that it will be possible for tourists to watch more than one game a day. In the other tournaments, unless two matches took place in the same city and on the same date, it was almost impossible.
Al Bayt is ready to host the opening match. Al Janoub’s debut will be next Tuesday (22), in the confrontation between France and Australia. A week earlier, adjustments were still being made to the structure outside the stadium.
Next to the main entrance, a banner was placed to demarcate the place where flags will be inspected. Nearby sign warns what cannot enter. Among the prohibited items are any props with political messages or considered discriminatory. Flags and posters can measure a maximum of 2 x 1.5 meters.
Given the controversy caused by the human rights issue in Qatar, this can be considered controversial. But FIFA’s ban on phrases has existed since 2006. The flag-sized conference had already been put into practice in Russia in 2018, and caused outrage. Especially among South American fans.
“Few tourists have come here to see how the stadium is doing so far. I don’t condemn them. It’s too far”, admits Amim (he declined to give his surname), an employee of Al Janoub, located in the city of Al Wakarah (population 88,000). As in Al Khor, the municipality would develop, according to the organization, with development and sustainability works.
As in Al Khor, they are not visible to fans attending the games. The image of vast spaces of sand is what catches the eye.
“That [obras de desenvolvimentro] we’ll see later. I want the Worlds to start soon”, completes Amim.
For those curious, the shortest distance between two stadiums at the Qatar World Cup is between Khalifa International and the Qatar Foundation: 2,200 meters.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
