World Cup 2022: Tournament in Qatar set to get under way
Argentina shirts are by far the most popular choice of kit
on show in Doha
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Fifa World Cup |
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Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live,
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After 12 years of questions, criticisms and conjecture, the Fifa
World Cup in Qatar will finally get under way on Sunday.
The build-up to the first tournament to be held in a Muslim
country in the Middle East has been overshadowed by a number of controversies.
But Fifa has asked all 32 competing nations to "focus
on the football" and hosts Qatar will kick off the tournament
against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium (16:00 GMT).
The home nations that have qualified are in the same group and
in action the following day, with England up against Iran (13:00), before Wales
play USA (19:00).
BBC Sport looks at the list of controversies, the excitement building on the ground in Qatar, and who could win the World Cup.
What have been the
controversies?
Qatar 2022 will go down as
one of the most talked about and controversial World Cups in history.
The Gulf country defeated bids from South Korea, Japan,
Australia and the United States to host the tournament, but there were
allegations of widespread corruption in the process, which Qatar have always
denied.
In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from
India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won
its World Cup bid.
The number is based on figures provided by the countries'
embassies in Qatar.
However, the Qatar government said the total was misleading,
because not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related
projects. The government said its accident records showed there were 37 deaths
among labourers at World Cup stadium construction sites between 2014 and 2020,
only three of which were "work-related".
However, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that
was an underestimate.
There have been fears over how LGBT fans can expect to be
treated given the country's strict adherence to Sharia Law, with homosexuality
illegal in Qatar.
Organisations engaging with Fifa over the tournament have said
"progress has been slow" and "issues of concern" remain.
UK Pride organisations have
called on bars and venues to not screen World Cup matches in a boycott of the
tournament.
Players have been urged to use their influence to speak up about
the issues in the country and at a news conference in Doha on Thursday, England defender Conor Coady said
"we're not politicians".
The Everton defender added: "We'll never be politicians in
terms of the way we look at things but, in terms of what the squad has done
over the last few years and how much they've helped people, that comes with the
territory."
Sepp Blatter, who
was the president of Fifa and the man who announced the awarding of the
tournament to Qatar in 2010, said last week that decision was a
"mistake".
On the day before the tournament, Fifa president Gianni
Infantino accused the West of "hypocrisy" in its reporting about
Qatar's human rights record.
In an extraordinary monologue at
a news conference in Doha, Infantino spoke for nearly an hour and made a
passionate defence of Qatar and the tournament.
Temperatures in the summer often reach 50C here, which is why
the tournament was moved for the first time to a 'winter' slot, though it is
still a balmy 32C during the day and a pleasant 22C in the evening.
It has meant European leagues have been brought to a halt
mid-season, with the opening game taking place just a week after the last
Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United.
Three months out from kick-off, the Fifa council approved a request from
the South American confederation Conmebol to move the start of the tournament a
day earlier than planned.
And just two days before the event, organisers announced fans would not be able to purchase or consume alcohol inside
or within the perimeter area of any of the eight stadiums.
At 29 days from start to finish (20 November to 18 December),
this will be the shortest World Cup since
Argentina 1978.
That means organisers have had to schedule four games most days
during the group stages and there is no turnaround time between the groups and
the knockout stages, with the last 16 starting the day after the group stages
end.
What will the experience
be like for supporters?
A country which has a
population of less than three million, Qatar expects to see a total influx of
about 1.2 million visitors from around the world over the next month.
At a briefing last month, Fifa said nearly three million tickets had been sold for
the tournament, with the host nation topping the list of countries with the
highest number of tickets at 37% of sales.
Travelling around the capital of Doha in the days before the
opening game, the buzz is palpable with bunting with flags from each competing country
lining the streets.
Argentina shirts are by far the most popular choice of kit on
show, mostly emblazoned with 'Messi 10' on the back. Lionel Messi - one of the
tournament's star attractions - plays for Qatari-owned Paris St-Germain.
The country has spent billions on upgrading its infrastructure
and the roads are already busy with locals and supporters from neighbouring
Saudi Arabia expected to drive across the border. Fifa shuttle buses can be
seen whizzing up and down the streets.
The metro carriages had been quiet early in the week but there
was real congestion on the Friday and Saturday, the weekend days in Qatar.
Questions remain as to how the system will cope with the arrival of tens of
thousands of fans for each of the 64 games.
"It is going to be tough," an attendant at one of the
stations told BBC Sport. "The smaller stops should be OK but it is going
to be tough at the ones where stadiums are located. There are four matches a
day so it will be extremely busy."
The Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park has bright, colourful lights
illuminated overhead, with music pumping out at a nearby performance stage -
though this is halted for a couple of minutes when the Adhan (call to prayer)
is heard from nearby mosques.
Alcohol cannot be consumed in public in the Muslim country, but
this rule has been relaxed a little for the tournament as fans can purchase a
beverage in restricted areas such as the fan park, though a pint will set you back £12.50.
Who will win the World
Cup?
Brazil have not won the World Cup since 2002
and are, in fact, the last non-European team to lift the trophy.
Statisticians
Opta have crunched the numbers and their prediction model
says Tite's men are favourites to go all the way for a record-extending sixth
time.
But Lionel Scaloni's Argentina have
the second-highest probability of being champions for the third time, coming
into the tournament on the back of a 36-game unbeaten run.
Gareth Southgate's England have hit a poor run
of form at the wrong time, winless in their last six games as they look to take
one step further from reaching the semi-finals four years ago.
Wales, who are in the same
group, have qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1958 and will
be aiming to reach the knockout stage again. That year they progressed to the
quarter-finals before narrowly being beaten by eventual winners Brazil.
BBC Sport pundits have
had their say with seven going for Brazil to win it, three for Argentina, two
saying France will retain their trophy and only one plumping for England.
A growing injury list
We lost one of the biggest stars on the eve of the tournament,
with France striker Karim Benzema ruled out late on Saturday after
sustaining a thigh injury in training.
Senegal forward Sadio Mane will
also not be seen on the pitches in Qatar. The ex-Liverpool frontman has had
surgery on a knee injury he sustained playing for Bayern Munich just 10 days
before the opening game.
Benzema and Mane joins players including Paul Pogba (France),
Timo Werner (Germany), Reece James (England), Diogo Jota (Portugal) and Giovani
Lo Celso (Argentina) who miss out through injury.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah are two of the biggest players who won't be in action as their countries did not qualify.
