World Cup in Qatar will ruin the fans: lunch costs $100

The main problem for the fans is not even the problem with alcohol, which is banned in the Arab country, but the very high cost of traveling and living in the emirate during the championship. This problem can be divided into several categories.

Football tickets

It has already been officially announced that tickets for the World Cup in Qatar have become the most expensive in the almost century-old history of the tournament.

Football fans planning to attend games in Qatar will shell out almost 40% more for match tickets compared to what football fans paid in Russia in 2018. In particular, tickets for the final match cost a mind-boggling $820 on average. For comparison, in Russia, fans paid an average of $250 for tickets to matches (prices differed depending on the participants in the game and the stage in which the teams played). In Qatar, exactly the same tickets cost an average of $340. Such data are provided in an independent study by the Munich analytical company Keller Sports.

What’s more, according to this study, ticket prices in Qatar are the most expensive in the last 20 years of World Cups. And prices for World Cup semi-final and final matches are almost 59% higher than in Russia four years ago.

Accommodation

Qatar is one of the smallest countries in the world with a population of just over 350,000 people. Most of which are migrants – according to some sources, about 80% of the population). Almost the entire territory of the country is occupied by the desert. And the daytime temperature in the summer is about 50 degrees. In this regard, it was decided to hold the championship for the first time in history in November-December. What caused the indignation of UEFA and European football leagues, forced because of this to interrupt their tournaments and championships, which are in full swing.

Yes, it is a little cooler in Qatar in winter than in summer. But according to the organizers themselves, from one to two million people can come to the World Cup. Who will need to live somewhere. So many hotels and hotels of the emirate’s authorities were simply not able to build.

Therefore, it was decided to place the guests of the tournament on cruise ships moored off the coast, and even in Bedouin tents equipped with air conditioning and beds. Although the organizers themselves assured that they would be quite comfortable, but, as can be seen from the emerging TV reports, in fact it is still an ordinary rag tent. For one bed in which you will have to pay about $ 200 per night.

They plan to use both converted construction trailers and containers for housing for fans. But their cost is also quite high.

In this regard, many fans have already decided to live in neighboring countries. And for the games of their teams to fly for one or two days, which led to an almost tenfold increase in flights during the days of the World Cup between Qatar and neighboring countries and a huge load on airports, which, however, the emirate authorities promise to cope with.

Undoubtedly, it will help the fans that public transport in Qatar will be free during the World Cup. Several online services will be available for ordering a taxi, and the average cost of a trip can be about $10.

Food

The average bill in Qatari restaurants is $100. Perhaps in fan zones and stadiums, a snack will cost a little less.

As for beer, it will be available only in fan zones, and one bottle will cost the fans 370 rubles. But at the stadiums during matches, only non-alcoholic beer will be sold. Apparently, because local residents will also attend the games, for whom any alcohol is prohibited.

It is forbidden to bring your own alcohol to Qatar, as well as to drink it in public places.

Sobering-up stations are open in the emirate for the “overwhelmed” fans. Where, according to the promises of the tournament organizers, those who have drunk too much will be “warmly and tenderly” taken care of.

Who can afford it?

As already mentioned, the organizers of the tournament expect from one to two million guests. But in fact, such a figure raises big questions.

The author of the article happened to visit several European and World Football Championships. I can state with authority that for many fans, the amount of $1,000 for the entire trip is already critical.

Do not forget about the global financial crisis, which hit hard on the wallets of ordinary fans. For example, in Argentina, some of them are forced to give up many things and take out bank loans to get halfway across the world to the tournament. The situation is the same in many other countries where people are not indifferent to football. Because it is ordinary fans who make up the bulk of visitors to world championships – and not representatives of high society, for whom even a couple of thousand dollars for a glass of beer is not a problem.

And if we add here the numerous scandals and problems surrounding this World Cup, then the 2010 World Cup in South Africa immediately comes to mind. To which few people did not come – almost all the matches were held in half-empty stands. And the championship put the country and its population on the brink of financial collapse.

More about money

According to official figures, the organization and hosting of the World Cup cost Qatar an astronomical $220 billion, making it the most expensive World Cup in history. Before that, the most expensive was the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But for our country, the World Cup cost 20 times less – about 800 billion rubles.

However, it is important to understand here that we are talking not only about stadiums and training bases for teams.

Doha, the capital of Qatar, has been unrecognizable since the country won the right to host the World Cup in 2010. New highways, subways, stadiums, a new airport and ports, as well as hundreds of buildings, hotels and restaurants have emerged over the years. And while authorities say all of these facilities were planned independently of the World Cup, it certainly has accelerated the pace. Other cities in Qatar have changed in the same way. But this is not news – in preparation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the transport, sports, tourist and social infrastructures have also been greatly updated, which have become the main legacy of the World Cup in our country.