DAVID RAMOS / GETTY IMAGES
mainly non-World Cup projects. There
I meet Mohamed Abdullah, a 45-year-old
Ghanaian security manager. He is less shy
than Shankar. “I have friends in other camps
and it’s true that many are really not good,”
tells me. “Toilets are not cleaned. Too many
people in one room.”
His boss, Main Jarboui, 35, a Tunisian
who describes himself as “a knucklehead
who speaks the truth”, confirms that some
contractors “are playing games. It costs
money for companies to comply with the
new laws. The way they see it, rules cost
money. Standards cost money. It’s cheaper
to escape the rules.” Whistleblowers
confirm men can still be crammed up to
a dozen in a small room.
The three men’s comments go to the
heart of the problem Qatar 2022 faces. Big
contractors working on World Cup projects
have — albeit belatedly — raised rates
of pay and standards of accommodation
and food to meet the new laws and the
conditions imposed by Fifa. However, some
private-sector contractors that work on
projects not directly related to the World
Cup — and therefore do not have to
observe Fifa’s standards and are less closely
monitored — are dragging their feet. Even
Thawadi admits: “We have the good, the
bad and the ugly.”
What about the other concerns? I ask
Thawadi if gay fans will really be welcome.
“Everybody’s welcome,” he tells me,
before adding quickly, “Public displays ofaffection, regardless of sexual orientation,
are not part of our culture, so we ask people
to respect that.” Women will be free to
enjoy the games in exactly the same way as
men. Unlike in some Middle Eastern
nations, Qatar has no restrictions on where
women fans can sit, nor rules on what
they’re expected to wear.T
hawadi’s claim that Qatar 2022 will
be carbon neutral has prompted
derision from environmentalists.
Zeina Khalil Hajj, head of global
campaigning at 350, a climate
protection NGO, says: “Events such
as these have a grave additional
environmental and climate impact.”
Thawadi says local sourcing of materials,
efficient water use, the development of an
800-megawatt solar farm, the creation of
the metro, the replacement of diesel buses
with electric ones and the government’s
purchase of carbon credits to offset flights
will go a long way to minimise the carbon
footprint. One stadium will be recycled —
dismantled and transferred overseas for
other tournaments — while another will
be almost halved in size after the removal
of the top tier of seats and a third converted
into a hotel and sports health facility.
Thawadi’s answers reveal a man caught
between the conflicting demands of liberal
western critics on one side and local
conservative forces on the other.
What about the ruling al-Thani family’s
claim that it is hosting the world’s biggest
party to foster tolerance and create
East-meets-West dialogue? That is true.
The al-Thanis have already invested morethan £20 billion in education and culture,
creating two national museums and a
national library, which have helped to
introduce people in the region to western
culture and westerners to Islamic art.
There’s currently a big Jeff Koons show in
Doha. Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin
Khalifa al-Thani, head of Qatar Museums
and sister of the emir, says, “It’s important
to learn from different cultures.”
The trouble is that Qatar’s rulers do not
always learn the right lessons. “They’ve
been very naive when it comes to the World
Cup,” argues one local political observer
who, like all political analysts who want to
stay in Qatar, speaks privately. “They should
have realised sooner that their great wealth
would attract greater scrutiny than previous
host nations and moved faster to deal with
the entirely predictable issues. They’ve
ended up overwhelmed.”
Qatar’s woes have prompted some to
argue it is too weakened to pull off a triumph
later this year. Government officials pointout that Qatar has overcome far bigger
challenges. Five years ago its neighbours,
led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, imposed
an economic blockade, closing borders and
demanding it do everything from changing
foreign policy to closing down Al Jazeera.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were angry at what
they saw as the emirate’s “malign” influence
on regional politics, in particular, they
claimed, its support for the Muslim
Brotherhood. Qatar refused to comply and
established new trading routes, largely with
Turkey and Iran. Eventually its opponents
ended the blockade and began a new era of
cold peace with the emirate.
On the last day of my week in Doha
I speak to Dr Paul Brannagan, author
of Qatar and the 2022 Fifa World Cup:
Politics, Controversy, Change, which is
published in March. In the book he uses
the phrase “soft disempowerment” to
describe what happens when a nation tries
and fails to use sport to raise its profile and
improve its image. “Governments tend to
think that if you host an event it’s going to
boost ‘soft power’, but that’s not always the
case,” he says. He cites the 2010
Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which
were criticised because contractors used
child labourers, ending India’s hopes of
hosting the Olympics.
The stakes for Qatar are similarly high.
It is hoping for a miracle in the desert later
this year that will help it go on to become
a global sporting hub. It will host a Formula
One grand prix every year from next year,
and stage the Asian Games, an athletics
tournament, in 2030. Next up is its plan to
bid for the 2036 Olympic Games n“They’ve been very naive when it comes to the World Cup. They should have
realised sooner that their great wealth would attract greater scrutiny”
Above: the 40,000-seat Stadium 974 is
named after the number of recycled
shipping containers used in its constructionThe Sunday Times Magazine • 17