Friday 16 June 2017

Neighbours’ blockade on Qatar raises fears for 2022 World Cup

Neighbours’ blockade on Qatar raises fears for 2022 World Cup:

"At the Qatar Foundation stadium in Doha, cranes zigzag over an empty site, one of eight arenas due to host games for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Workers, some of whom are wearing hydration backpacks to battle the sapping heat, say it is business as normal. Questions on the impact of the economic blockade facing Qatar are answered with a smile and shrug. “We don’t know what is going to happen further down the line,” said one foreman.

The decision to host the 2022 World Cup in oil and gas-rich Qatar attracted controversy from the start, not least because of the intense summer heat in the desert state where temperatures run to 50C. The smallest country ever to host a World Cup, its reliance on migrant labour to build the stadiums ignited outrage. Now the diplomatic crisis engulfing the emirate threatens the $500m-a-week infrastructure works needed to make sure Qatar is ready for the tournament."



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