Pandemic or not, Qatar set to welcome fans for World Cup

DOHA • The focus of the sporting world shifts to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following the Tokyo Olympics, with lingering questions over Covid-19 safety and human rights.

Unlike the Games, which played out to a backdrop of surging case numbers and spectator limits, organisers of the Nov 21-Dec 18 football tournament insist it will be played in full stadiums.

The World Cup might be the first truly global sporting event with fans since the coronavirus emerged at the start of last year if the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics go ahead behind closed doors.

Such is the commitment of the host to stage a "normal" tournament that Doha has pledged to vaccinate travelling fans from countries where the roll-out of jabs has been slower.

"Whatever happens I expect we'll have fans, including foreigners, in the stadiums," said Danyel Reiche, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar.

"Qatar was a pioneer in developing concepts for sports during the pandemic and has staged many events."

Qatar, the first Middle Eastern host of the World Cup, was, along with Rwanda, an Olympic vaccine hub for athletes heading to Tokyo. It also hosted the refugee team.

It has pledged to obtain one million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for fans travelling to the country. Details of its jab programme have yet to be published, though the World Cup organisers went to Tokyo to observe the precautions taken.

"Tokyo has been a qualified success with... little overall dissent among those present about the restrictions in place," said Simon Chadwick, director of the Eurasian sports centre at France's Emlyon Business School.

"Qatar would do well to follow and fine-tune the processes and procedures that have been in place during the Olympics. The big difference of course is the presence of spectators."

With less than 16 months left, the Gulf state is speckled with construction sites and roadworks.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has admitted that the pandemic had caused "a very limited delay" to some infrastructure projects.

"Preparations... will all be complete in the coming months," he said of the tournament which officials hope will contribute around US$20 billion (S$27.1 billion) to Qatar's economy.

In addition, Qatar has repeatedly given assurances on its human and labour rights record.

In May, secret police arrested a Kenyan security guard who had published articles on the plight of migrant workers in the country which is dependent on expat labour. He was charged with receiving money from a foreign agent, prompting an outcry from rights groups.

While campaigners have accused employers of exploitation, Qatar insists it has done more than any country in the region to improve the welfare of workers.

In February, Qatar fiercely denied reports in Britain's Guardian newspaper of excessive worker fatalities, insisting the figure was unreliable but refusing to publish the actual number.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE