International Football
Qatar market braces for World Cup boom
Boxloads of wooden camels, plates with pictures of Qatar’s skyscrapers, gold necklaces, football hats and scarves arrive every day in Doha’s Souq Waqif market, where traders eagerly await World Cup fans.
The narrow alleys of the century-old market will be a magnet for the one million football followers expected at the tournament, which kicks off on Nov 20.
“There will be huge crowds, we have never experienced anything like this,” said Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al-Nama, head of the souq stables that organises camel and pony rides. “Inshallah (God willing), we are ready.”
Crowds are already growing as a World Cup buzz mounts.
Fan zone attractions and temporary stores are being set up around Nama’s camel enclosure and the hundreds of small stores selling incense, spices, carpets, gold and even falcons and other birds and animals. Press reports said stores will be allowed to open 24 hours a day during the World Cup.
When Souq Waqif opened in the early 20th century, traders stood at the entrance shouting at passers-by to buy their goods. Its name means the “Standing Market”.
Devastated by a major fire in 2003, most of it has been rebuilt with arched pedestrian alleys, as part of a project to regenerate central Doha.
Foreign fans “will have a lot of fun”, said Yasmine Ghanem, a 28-year-old member of Qatar’s national women’s golf team, who was sat in a Souq Waqif cafe drinking coffee and eating pancakes.
“It will be a great mixture of Arab culture and football,” she added.
Every evening, terraces are now filled with people drinking coffee and puffing on shisha tobacco pipes – it is a zone with no alcohol.
But traders, who have long been preparing for the World Cup, are expecting more. Nama cites the camels kept in an enclosure on a square as one attraction.
“I think that many tourists will want to see the camels and take pictures with them, because they are not found in Europe and East Asia,” he said.
Souvenir stores have packed their shelves. At his small store selling gold necklaces, Saleh Mohammed is looking for a motorbike rider who can deliver to hotels.
Dominated by the spiralling minaret of the Sheikh Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Centre, the Al Rawnaq company has for decades concentrated on textiles, cheap clothes and toys.
Now the aisles are filled with scarves, flags and hats emblazoned with the names of the 32 competing nations – especially hosts Qatar.
In one corner, one worker makes flags, some up to 10 metres long.
Tens of billions of dollars have been spent on a new metro and infrastructure that has given the city a dramatic makeover. Outside Doha, many new resorts have been built.
Qatar wants to use the World Cup to bolster a campaign to increase visitor numbers from 1.5 million a year to six million by 2030.
Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said his company is investing “hundreds of millions of dollars” on new infrastructure and promoting tourism.
“Qatar can certainly use this opportunity to position itself as a family friendly destination,” said Kamilla Swart-Arries, associate professor in sport and tourism at Hamad bin Khalifa University.
“The World Cup will just amplify and maximise the changing perception that people may currently have about Doha and Qatar.”
At the World Cup countdown clock on seafront Corniche road, Bangladeshis, Indians, Nepalis, Pakistanis, Kenyans and Ugandans from Qatar’s huge migrant community flock to take selfies next to the modernist structure.
“I am a fan of Lionel Messi and I have a ticket to see Argentina play Saudi Arabia,” said Anwar Sadath, 56, an Indian accountant.
“It will be a memorable event.”
– AFP
Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been named new coach of the United States men’s team, U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday.
Pochettino, who parted ways with Premier League side Chelsea in May after one season in charge, will take the reins of the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The Argentine, a former Paris St Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager, said his decision to join U.S. soccer was not just about football, but about the journey the country was on and he could not pass up the opportunity.
“The energy, the passion, and the hunger to achieve something truly historic here – those are the things that inspired me,” he said in a statement.
“I see a group of players full of talent and potential, and together, we’re going to build something special that the whole nation can be proud of.”
U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said Pochettino was a “serial winner with a deep passion for developing players”.
“His track record speaks for itself, and I am confident that he is the right choice to harness the immense potential within our talented squad. We are thrilled to have Mauricio on board as we embark on this exciting journey to achieve success on the global stage.”
The U.S. have been without a permanent coach since a humiliating early exit from the Copa America on home soil in July led to the sacking of Gregg Berhalter after his second stint as head coach.
The 51-year-old boss was first appointed in 2018 and led the Americans to the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup, but just weeks later found himself embroiled in a bitter public row with one of the team’s brightest emerging talents, Gio Reyna.
U.S. Soccer’s search for a new coach when Berhalter’s contract expired at the end of 2022 included names such as Canada coach Jesse Marsch, but they ultimately rehired Berhalter in June last year with the full support of the players.
However, it proved unsuccessful as the U.S. failed to progress beyond the group stages of the Copa America after a shock 2-1 defeat to Panama and a crushing 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
Pochettino will take over after Mikey Varas, who has been appointed interim coach, oversaw friendlies against Canada last Saturday and New Zealand on Tuesday.
The U.S. drew 1-1 with New Zealand in Cincinnati after Christian Pulisic’s goal was cancelled out by Ben Waine’s late equaliser.
The U.S. will next play friendlies against Panama on Oct. 12 and Mexico three days later.
-Reuters
At last, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen is out of the limbo. He has accepted to join Galatasaray on loan.
He is now asking for a release clause at Napoli to become €75m instead of €130m
He also wants a break clause for January in case top clubs approach him over move.
The final points are being discussed. He has been videoed celebrating with the Turkey club’s fans.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.
The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.
“Friday will be my last match with my country’s national team,” an emotional Suarez told a press conference.
“The fact that is my decision to retire and that I’m not retired because of injuries or that they stop calling me for one thing or another, that gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me individually.
“It’s difficult but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I have given my all, and that flame has not been extinguished little by little,” the striker added.
Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup before facing Venezuela four days later.
Suarez scored the stoppage-time goal against Canada that secured third place at the Copa America in July and the striker added that one of his aims was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.
“My dream was for my children to see me win something important with the national team … that last goal was very nice for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was very nice for them,” he said.
“I wanted to show people again that I can continue to contribute to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have done it (retired) perfectly after that, but having analysed the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium.
“I want my children to live this experience. Saying goodbye with the people here is something that I don’t know if many have done.”
Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club after joining the Major League Soccer side last year to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
-Reuters
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