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The 2022 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away, but Qatar is racing to put the final touches on preparations amid ongoing concerns about whether the country is ready to host the world’s largest single sporting tournament.
Since Qatar was awarded rights to host the World Cup in 2010, the Gulf country has seen its government spend more than $300 billion on infrastructure projects, per Bloomberg.
Many of the projects remain unfinished.
Qatar estimates the World Cup will add $17 billion to its economy, down from a previous estimate of $20 billion.
- About 1.2 million people are expected to travel to Qatar for the event.
- As of June, only 90,000 hotel rooms were available throughout host city Doha.
Earlier in September, a match held at Qatar’s largest venue — the $767 million Lusail Stadium — triggered several complaints from fans about a lack of water accessibility and other issues.
Human Rights Issues
Logistics and construction aren’t the only concerns for the host country.
Qatar’s discrimination against the LGBTQ community has led to an anti-discrimination campaign in which many team captains will wear rainbow armbands during the World Cup.
German club Hoffenheim has vowed to not run any World Cup-related content on its website due to Qatar’s record of human rights violations.
