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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2017 12:04:01 GMT
 The pressure on the International Football Federation (FIFA) to make a decision about the future of the 2022 World Cup, due to be held in Qatar, has been mounting in the past few hours in the wake of the small emirate being placed in a state of diplomatic isolation by its neighbors in the Gulf peninsula and the Middle East. The prospect of Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup has been plunged into serious doubt after the country’s neighbors broke off diplomatic relations and blockaded its borders, The Guardian reported on Monday. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen announced yesterday that they are severing their relations with Qatar, withdrawing their ambassadors and closing their airspace and sea ports to any Qatari transports. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have closed the only land route into the tiny peninsula and refused to allow use of their sea ports or airspace. The multibillion-dollar preparations to host the 2022 tournament, which involve building nine stadiums and huge infrastructure, is put into perspective by local reports that Qataris are so worried about the blockade that they are storming the supermarkets and leaving shelves empty of food. The border with Saudi Arabia is the only road route into the country; Qatar relies on sea ports for various supplies and the airspace blockade is a huge logistical handicap for the country and its flagship airline, Qatar Airways. The “supreme committee” responsible for building the 2022 World Cup facilities did not issue a public statement but a source acknowledged that the seriousness of the crisis is greater than any formidable challenges Qatar has faced since winning the vote in 2010 from FIFA’s now discredited executive committee, The Guardian said. A series of investigations has been held into strongly-denied corruption allegations and there has been worldwide criticism of the country’s treatment of its migrant construction workers. The German FA (DFB) president, Reinhard Grindel, said he would discuss it with the German government and the European Football Federation (UEFA). Grindel promised to look for a “political solution” but said: “The football community worldwide should agree that … major tournaments should not be played in countries that actively support terror.” www.egyptindependent.com/ |
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Post by rugbytoffee on Jun 7, 2017 14:01:46 GMT
Running short of time to move it now surely
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2017 20:24:32 GMT
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said he does not believe the diplomatic crisis involving 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar will threaten its hosting of the tournament.
In an interview published in Swiss newspapers Le Matin Dimanche and Sonntagszeitung on Sunday, Infantino said he expects the diplomatic situation to revert back to normal by the time the tournament is played in five and a half years time.
Talk to Al Jazeera - Hassan al-Thawadi: 'A clear bias' against Qatar
Asked if he believed that Qatar's hosting was in danger, Infantino replied: "No. In any case, I am not in the habit of speculating and I'm not going to this time either."
Infantino said that FIFA was watching the situation and was in regular contact with the Qatari authorities.
"The essential role of FIFA, as I understand it, is to deal with football and not to interfere in geopolitics," he said.
Qatar will be hosting World Cup between the 21 November – 18 December 2022 and is scheduled to host multiple events across different sports in the lead-up to the tournament.
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Post by rugbytoffee on Jun 13, 2017 20:52:29 GMT
Could be a farce of a tournament imo
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2017 12:25:05 GMT
New cooling technologies are being rolled out to workers on Qatar's World Cup 2022 stadium sites during the fierce heat of the summer months, The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) announced on Wednesday.
Temperatures are regularly well above 40 degrees celsius during the day and more than 1,000 workers at the Al Wakrah site recently received "pioneering cooling towels" to make working outside more comfortable, according to an SC statement.
The towels, which workers can wear on their necks, arms or in their pocket to create a cooling effect without restricting movement, will cool core temperatures for up to four hours after being submerged in water.
SC stated a total of 9,400 towels would be deployed across their stadium projects.
Two further schemes are also being piloted - "lightweight evaporative cooling vests" which are also in use at Al Wakrah and "cooled helmets" which are still at the trial stage and have been developed with scientists at Qatar University and Aspire Zone Foundation.
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