Final stage has no World Cup atmosphere five days before the start of the tournament

You don’t have to leave Lusail station to start being impressed by the architecture of the Lusail Iconic Stadium, built to host ten World Cup matches in Qatar, including two for the Brazilian team and the final.

If from afar the arena draws attention due to its shape, reminiscent of bowls of dates from the golden age of Islamic crafts, up close, however, it is strange not to have tourists there, taking pictures of the place, less than a week away. the opening of the World Cup, scheduled for next Sunday (20).

Local workers and press professionals were the only ones who appeared with cell phones in hand for a selfie in front of the arena this Tuesday morning (15). The venue has the capacity to receive 86,250 people.

Lusail is also a city that lacks life. Built from scratch by the Qatari government in 2005, when hosting the World Cup was still just a dream, the region intends to use the tournament precisely to attract more residents.

Conceived by the former emir sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, it was designed to receive a population of 200,000 inhabitants, at a cost of US$ 45 billion (R$ 240 billion at current exchange rates) for Qatari Diar, a state-owned construction company.

“Continuing here there is a large avenue where the fans will concentrate”, says the Filipino Jejomar Rizalino, an official in charge of directing those who leave the metro. But the place he indicated, built a few meters from the stadium, doesn’t have that World Cup atmosphere either.

Were it not for the flags of countries spread along a boulevard, there are few references that there is a place about to shelter fans from all over the world.

Instead of the noise of musical instruments and singing, the sound around was trucks, tractors and machinery. The stadium is ready, but its surroundings still have works to improve sidewalks, landscaping, street paving and even some stores are being renovated.

“All this must be over by Thursday,” says a 35-year-old Indian official who declined to give even his first name.

In recent years, Qatar has come under intense criticism from human rights groups over reports of situations of work similar to slavery, especially with foreign employees, who make up most of the population of around 2.7 million inhabitant.

Many are afraid to give interviews for fear of being deported.

This is not the case, however, for Englishman Blake Wilson, 29. He lives with his wife and two children near the marina next to the West Bay gulf, works in the gas industry and was walking on Tuesday morning (15) near the newly built boulevard.

A fan of Brazilian football, “which is going to win the title”, according to him, the Englishman also thinks the city lacks a party atmosphere. “Maybe when the games start we’ll start to see more tourists on the street.”

On Thursday (24), the venue will host the debut of Brazil, against Serbia. Tite’s team will also perform on stage in the last round of the group stage, against Cameroon, on December 2nd.

“The tourist traffic started to pick up just a week ago,” says Jojo Albert, who works at a sporting goods store. “During the night, more people come here, the climate is more pleasant”.

Close to noon, thermometers marked 33ºC in the region. It was precisely because of the high temperatures in Qatar that FIFA decided to schedule the World Cup for November and December, as in the middle of the year the averages are above 40º C.

During the summer, temperatures can exceed 50°C. For this reason, the Lusail project also included the construction of 175 km of tubes that will form a cooling system throughout the region.

Also newly built is the rail system connecting the city to Doha, with 15 km of metro and train lines.

The easy connection with the country’s capital, in addition to the luxury seen in local buildings, has two main objectives: to attract residents of the upper classes after Doha saw its population, mainly immigrants, grow 150% in the last nine years.

More than a refuge for Qatar’s elite, Lusail was also conceived to change the country’s image abroad.

The Middle Eastern nation is experiencing a diplomatic dispute and suffers a political and economic embargo from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.

In the coming weeks, the local government wants to show that this, however, does not prevent them from having a successful World Cup. All that’s left is for the public to arrive to check it out.