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Qatar World Cup In Doubt?











Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
31,265
Donald Trump has kicked some serious ass.
 






swindonseagull

Well-known member
Aug 6, 2003
9,405
Swindon, but used to be Manila
I'm due to transfer at Doha on Saturday. Fly in with BA and out with Qatar Airways. Should I be worried?

Qatar are obviously flying as normal but will not be allowed to fly over Bahrain or Saudi Airspace,
My daughter is flying back from Bali on Thursday on Qatar and has been told to expect a longer flight ( airspace diversions)
No news about BA that I know of as it seems to be an Arab diplomatic row.but getting bigger by the hour.
 
Last edited:


Not Andy Naylor

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2007
8,995
Seven Dials
Yup, USA are certainly prepared for it, although there is the issue of Trump's travel ban to deal with.

Having worked for the Qataris the stadia construction projects are amazing, but there's little legacy benefit.

If FIFA are genuine about taking the WC to new frontiers, then Australia would be a logical choice, they bid for the and it would fit in with a summer tournament too weather-wise.

The USA should have first dibs. Interestingly, Blatter voted for them ...
 


Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
20,575
Playing snooker
Suspect it would be a major battle between Qatar and FIFA as CAS, with the only winners being, only again, the lawyers.

...and any football finance lecturers invited to appear on TV and radio :thumbsup:

:banana:
 




El Presidente

The ONLY Gay in Brighton
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
40,008
Pattknull med Haksprut
...and any football finance lecturers invited to appear on TV and radio :thumbsup:

:banana:

They may be working on a phrase along the lines of "Qatar are a small team in world football, a bit like Crystal Palace being a small club in the Premier League "


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 




El Presidente

The ONLY Gay in Brighton
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
40,008
Pattknull med Haksprut
I'm sure that is small fry to FIFA. :whistle:

FIFA have only $2.3bn of financial assets.
996016962e29c5e7de1f7d9a0124bf88.png



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Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
62,417
Location Location
USA would be great.
Loads of great cities to visit, cheapish domestic flights, plenty of accommodation.

Shit beer, but can't have everything.

Would love it.

Strange myth that.

In the last 8 months I've been to New York, Minneapolis, Chicago and Vegas. The range of craft beers in every one of those cities is IMMENSE. Sure there's the old usual Coors, Millers, Buds etc. But in pretty much every bar I went in (and yes, I go in a LOT), they had literally about a dozen different draft ales to choose from, fresh from the pump. Some places had 20+. I go abroad quite a lot, and I've not been anywhere that has a finer choice of beers than the USA.
 


Insel affe

HellBilly
Feb 23, 2009
24,337
Brighton factually.....
4 regional allies including Saudi Arabia have expelled Qatar from their alliance due to 'promotion of terrorism'.
I wonder if this will impact the World Cup? I certainly hope so.

Qatar row: Four countries cut links with Doha - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40155829

Being a rather cynical chap, as we all know those countries have allegedly also been accused of funding terror. My thoughts are they have wind or knowledge of something wicked this way comes at the world cup and possibly think even this would be a step too far and are therefore distancing themselves so as not to get caught in the revenge from the west.
 




happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
8,171
Eastbourne
Being a rather cynical chap, as we all know those countries have allegedly also been accused of funding terror. My thoughts are they have wind or knowledge of something wicked this way comes at the world cup and possibly think even this would be a step too far and are therefore distancing themselves so as not to get caught in the revenge from the west.

You mean like the revenge against Saudi Arabia for 9/11 ?
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,705
The Fatherland
Strange myth that.

In the last 8 months I've been to New York, Minneapolis, Chicago and Vegas. The range of craft beers in every one of those cities is IMMENSE. Sure there's the old usual Coors, Millers, Buds etc. But in pretty much every bar I went in (and yes, I go in a LOT), they had literally about a dozen different draft ales to choose from, fresh from the pump. Some places had 20+. I go abroad quite a lot, and I've not been anywhere that has a finer choice of beers than the USA.

Very much this.
 


Green Cross Code Man

Wunt be druv
Mar 30, 2006
20,748
Eastbourne
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/1b16b4c6-5128-11e7-a1f2-db19572361bb

Neighbours’ blockade on Qatar raises fears for 2022 World Cup

Diplomatic crisis threatens $500m-a-week building works needed for tournament to begin

[https://www-ft-com]

Big spender: Qatar’s $200bn World Cup programme includes eight new stadiums and other football facilities and a metro system linking Doha to a new city © AFP

***

June 16, 2017 4:02 am*by*Simeon Kerr*in Doha

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.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are leading a blockade of Qatar, closing their borders to the state, which they accuse of supporting Islamist terrorism, a charge denied in Doha. “It is looking increasingly likely that this [crisis] is going to drag on for some time and at some point the viability of the World Cup, a major anchor for projects in Qatar, will be called into question,” said Farouk Soussa, a Middle East economist for Citi. “Any decision to remove the World Cup from Qatar would have extremely negative implications in Qatar’s construction sector and non-oil economy.”

David Gardner

[https://www-ft-com]

Saudi Arabia is playing a dangerous game with Qatar

The risk of escalation in the Middle East is considerable

In recent years, the government, hit hard by the collapse in oil prices, has made building infrastructure for the tournament its focus.

Qatar’s $200bn World Cup spending programme includes eight new stadiums and other football facilities, plus a metro system linking Doha to a new city for 250,000 residents north of the capital, where the final is scheduled to be played in a stadium designed by architects Foster + Partners. While most sites have a couple of months’ supply of materials, blunting the immediate impact of the blockade, problems will soon mount for a country that relies heavily on imports.

Heavy items such as aggregate — crushed stones used for cement and building — come from the quarries of the Hajar mountain range in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, in the UAE. Other materials such as iron and steel or mechanical equipment are often delivered via the entrepot trading hub of Dubai. As much as half of Qatar’s building materials and equipment is imported across the Saudi land border, said Colin Foreman, deputy editor of the Middle East Economic Digest. Many items are made in the UAE and then trucked across Saudi borders to Qatar.

Industry executives say logistics partners are having to reshuffle inbound road and sea routes to avoid the blockade at UAE ports and the Saudi-Qatari land border. “The rerouting of materials will add time and cost to projects,” said Mr Soussa. The capacity at Doha’s Hamad port may be insufficient to handle the peak flow of materials and machinery for all projects. “Projects will be delayed, big time,” said one contractor. “They have the option to prioritise the World Cup above all others, which might work — depends how clever they are about it.”

Only China and the US export more goods by value to Qatar than the UAE, Qatari statistics show. Yet, so far, Qatar’s economy ministry says the closure of land borders has had a “minor impact on imports”.

[https://www-ft-com]

Khalifa stadium in Doha undergoing construction last year © AFP

“This limited impact has been compensated by importing a variety of products through air and seaports, like Sohar port in the brotherly Sultanate of Oman, other nearby ports, or directly through Hamad port,” it said in a statement.

Ghanim al-Kuwari, executive director at the committee overseeing preparations for the World Cup, on Thursday insisted there has been “absolutely no impact” on construction progress, saying around 45 per cent of work has been carried out to date.

The impact of the blockade extends beyond the shipment of goods. Already, the ability of professionals to travel between Qatar and other states has been severely curtailed, said Mr Soussa. Executives travelling to Doha from the business hubs of the UAE or Bahrain are flying via neighbouring Oman or Kuwait.

Dubai officials concede that the blockade will have an impact on the emirate financially and damage its reputation as a free-trade hub. “This is going to hurt us eventually,” said one. But Dubai has followed the lead of Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, in turning the screw on Doha. And suppliers are now having to make difficult decisions on honouring contracts for the supply of goods or services to Qatar.

[https://i]

UAE-based businesses are having to balance whether it is worth sustaining higher costs related to the blockade to maintain long-term relationships with counterparties in Doha. That runs the risk of angering other partners in, say, the UAE. “For now, many are deciding to drop the Qatari side,” said one official aware of the discussions.

For its part, Fifa, football’s international governing body, says it is in “regular contact” with Qatar 2022’s organising committees. It points to comments in the Swiss media by Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, when he said he was “confident the region will return to a normal situation”.

Additional reporting by Murad Ahmed
 


Albion my Albion

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 6, 2016
19,663
Indiana, USA
Being a rather cynical chap, as we all know those countries have allegedly also been accused of funding terror. My thoughts are they have wind or knowledge of something wicked this way comes at the world cup and possibly think even this would be a step too far and are therefore distancing themselves so as not to get caught in the revenge from the west.

This was my all time favourite micro-brew in the Chicago area.

https://www.3floyds.com/beer/zombie-dust/?age_verification=364619de90
 






Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
An interesting thread on Twitter by Rob Harris, including,

Breaking: Swiss federal prosecutors announce bribery case against Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain in FIFA probe.

PSG president is also head of BeIn Sports and criminal case relates to the awarding by FIFA of World Cup TV rights

https://twitter.com/RobHarris/status/918459852661370880
 


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