International Football
Soccer fans could face accommodation shortage at Qatar’s World Cup
- Qatar aims to attract 1.2 million fans to World Cup
- Organisers expect to offer up to 130,000 rooms
- Not all hotel rooms available for fans
- Desert “fan villages” under consideration
On the outskirts of Doha, low-rise apartment blocks are starting to take shape that will house many of the soccer fans due to descend on the Qatari capital next year for the World Cup 2022.
Qatar, which has been in the spotlight for its treatment of migrant workers on construction sites, hopes the tournament will attract 1.2 million visitors, roughly a third of its population.
But organisers told Reuters they expect to be able to offer up to 130,000 rooms, including hotels, which could leave thousands of fans scrambling for accommodation when matches start next November.
And those hoping for city views may be disappointed. The Madinatna complex, capable of housing up to 27,000 fans sharing apartments, is surrounded by an 18-lane expressway and a stark expanse of desert 25 kms (15 miles) from Doha’s centre.
Organisers have announced only partial details about how and where they plan to find 130,000 rooms, saying the total stock of hotel rooms would be announced “in due course.
“It’s really frustrating when the host country makes promises about available and affordable accommodation, and then we get closer to a tournament and we see a shortage,” said Ronan Evian, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, a network of European soccer fans.
Qatar will have fewer than 50,000 hotel rooms ready by next November, according to estimates by Qatar Tourism, a government body that sets strategy and regulates tourism. And not all hotel rooms will be available to fans as many have been reserved for players and FIFA officials, hotel sources said.
Two cruise ships, one still under construction in France, and shared villas and apartments, including those at Madinatna, would provide at least another 64,000 rooms, most of them to be managed by Accor (ACCP.PA), Europe’s largest hotel operator.
A construction frenzy continues at the site of Madinatna (Our City), due to be completed in spring, and at more than two dozen hotel sites.
Authorities have banned all hotels from accepting individual reservations starting November until the tournament’s conclusion on Dec. 23, according to a circular issued earlier this year.
Instead, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy will handle sales of nearly all accommodation options in Qatar. The government has capped hotel rates specifically for the World Cup, but rates for other accommodation have not yet been set.
World Cup rates for all but two- and three-star hotels look set to exceed the most recently published average nightly room rate of 438 riyals ($120).
The scramble to secure accommodation has seen some furnished apartments and villas rented only to tenants agreeing to short-term leases. A rental agent at the Grand Hyatt’s furnished villas, for example, said all new leases must end in March 2022.
It has driven up rental prices, which had been declining for years. Asking prices for apartments and villas have recently increased by 5-10%, said a recent real estate market review by Cushman and Wakefield.
GETTING CREATIVE
Qatar, the first Middle Eastern nation to host the event, is already under media scrutiny over the plight of migrant workers, who along with other foreigners comprise the bulk of the population.
It introduced a series of labour reforms in the last year that have boosted the minimum wage and rules authorities say are designed to protect workers from heat stress.
Previous World Cups have been held across multiple cities in large countries like Brazil or Russia, but Qatar is roughly the size of Jamaica and its eight World Cup stadiums are clustered around its only major city, Doha.
A spokesperson for the Supreme Committee said in a statement to Reuters that they will be “utilising every available accommodation option” in the country.
One proposal has been desert “fan villages” that house visitors in bedouin-style tents or out under the stars in the Gulf’s mild autumn.
The Supreme Committee spokesperson said that concept was still being finalised. It was not immediately clear how sewage, water and food at desert villages would be handled.
Qatar Tourism has launched a “holiday home” scheme allowing people in Doha to apply for licences to rent out their homes on platforms like AirBnB or VRBO.
Organisers marketed a “Host a Fan” campaign ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup in Doha this December, which will serve as a test of Qatar’s preparedness for next year.
But the call for Qataris to open their homes has raised eyebrows among some in the conservative Muslim country and organisers have not said how many homes have signed up.
If these schemes do not pan out, fans may choose to commute from other Gulf Arab states, especially after a row between some of them and Qatar was resolved in January, allowing flights to resume between Doha and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Work is also underway to expand Qatar’s main airport and reopen an old airport, allowing more flights from nearby cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE or the Omani capital Muscat.
NO WHITE ELEPHANTS
World Cup officials played down the prospect of an accommodation shortfall and said Qatar was building only what its market needed and avoiding “white elephants”.
“We don’t want to start building a lot of hotels, then after the tournament when the peak drops, there is not going to be any (utilization of the hotels),” said Fatma Al-Nuaimi, a spokesperson for the 2022 organising committee.
Aside from soccer stadiums, Qatar has not specified legacy plans for what will happen to World Cup infrastructure after the tournament.
Complexes like Madinatna, which alone brings 6,780 new apartments to market, could risk a supply glut in a property market that has previously been hit by the Gulf row that saw Saudi Arabia and its allies impose an embargo in mid-2017.
“After the World Cup, we expect rents to reduce again and supply that had been tied up for the event will be filtered back into the market,” Cushman and Wakefield head of research Johnny Archer told Reuters.
-Reuters
Soccer chiefs from Europe and South America will hold a final meeting before a Thursday deadline to decide whether and where this month’s “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina will be played, with London emerging as the leading candidate after doubts over Doha, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The match between European champions Spain and Copa America holders Argentina had been scheduled for March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
However, it has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The Spanish FA (RFEF) has been pushing for a swift resolution, mindful that the March international break is viewed as vital preparation ahead of the June-July World Cup in North America.
“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbours amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
-Reuters
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International Football
Spain-Argentina ‘Finalissima’ in Qatar at risk amid US, Israel attacks on Iran
The match between Spain and Argentina, tagged “Finalissima” in Doha, is in doubt after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The contest between European Championship winners Spain and Copa America champions Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, with potential big-name draws including Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.
“Qatar Football Association announces the postponement of all tournaments, competitions and matches, effective from today and until further notice,” the association said in a statement on Sunday.
“The new dates for the resumption of competitions will be announced in due course through the Association’s official channels.”
The final call on whether to postpone the game rests with event organisers UEFA and CONMEBOL.
The Bahrain Football Association postponed all its matches until further notice, while the Asian Football Confederation on Sunday announced it was delaying Champions League Elite fixtures in the region.
The Asian Champions League Two, currently at the quarter-final stage, has also been impacted, along with games in the Challenge League.
Countries across the Middle East have been on high alert since Saturday, when the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, aimed at diminishing Iran’s military capability.
Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. targets around the region, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
On Sunday, Qatar’s interior ministry reported a fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.
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International Football
Iran Conflict Casts Uncertainty Over Super Eagles’ Four-Nation Tournament Opener
Nigeria’s Super Eagles may face fresh uncertainty ahead of their scheduled participation in a Four-Nation Invitational Tournament in Amman, Jordan, following reports that Iran — their intended first opponents — is now at war after attacks by the United States and Israel.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had earlier confirmed that the Super Eagles would compete in the mini-tournament during the FIFA Men’s International Window in March 2026. The competition is slated to run from March 27 to 31 in the Jordanian capital.
Under the original fixture schedule, Nigeria were due to open the tournament on Friday, March 27 against Iran’s senior national team at the 17,000-capacity Amman International Stadium. Hosts Jordan were set to face Costa Rica the same day at the 62,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
However, the escalating military confrontation involving Iran has cast serious doubt over the participation of the Iranian national team and the viability of the opening fixture.
While tournament organisers in Jordan have yet to issue an official statement regarding possible changes, the developing security situation is expected to force urgent consultations between the participating federations, tournament organisers and FIFA.
The competition was designed to provide competitive match exposure during a window initially reserved for the intercontinental play-off for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Nigeria’s inclusion in the tournament had already generated debate at home, with observers questioning whether the NFF’s commitment signalled a shift in focus away from potential qualification disputes.
The new geopolitical crisis further complicates matters. International conflicts often trigger travel restrictions, airspace closures and security advisories that can directly affect national teams’ ability to assemble and travel.
Should Iran withdraw or be unable to participate, organisers may be compelled to seek a replacement team or adjust the fixture format entirely.
Nigeria are scheduled to face hosts Jordan on March 31 in their second match of the tournament, while Costa Rica and Iran were originally billed to meet the same day at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Kick-off times for the four fixtures had yet to be officially announced before the outbreak of hostilities.
For the Super Eagles, the tournament was seen as an opportunity to build cohesion and test tactical adjustments ahead of future competitive engagements. Now, attention will turn to whether the event can proceed as planned — and whether Nigeria’s opening match will require a late reshuffle.
The NFF is expected to monitor developments closely and may issue further clarification in the coming days as the regional and international situation evolves.
Meanwhile, Reuters has quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead. But the Iranians have dismissed the claim, saying that the leader is ‘firmly commanding the field’. Both Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran.
President Donald Trump says action will give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers. Hits were reported in Israel and Gulf states as Iran retaliated. The attack has triggered fear and panics as as Iranians flee cities.
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