[Albion] Rows of empty seats in Doha

[Jesus Gul]

I watched a bit of sport in the Middle East when I was there.

No issue with weather October - March. Riyadh will be chilly at night for the boxing.

Qatar - Doha - not my cup of tea...at all...poor relation in the gulf experience wise - not money wise...Qatar fallen out with the rest of the region. Not surprised no one is at the athletics. Some World Cup games will be in half empty stadiums. Venezuela v Austria anyone? But then again Korea 2002 Denmark v Uruguay they'd shipped a load of school kids in to make Ulsan stadium look full but we still had a blast.

UAE - first game I went to was UAE v Brazil in '05 - Kaka and co - was OK as an experience; the FIFA World Club Cups in 2010/11 were great through - really well organised. Just popping down the national stadium after work to catch Estudiantes v Barca. Rugby 7s in Dubai brilliant year after year. The nags - Dubai World Cup supposed to be good but I've not done that particular meet. Mubadala Tennis OK. Abu Dhabi F1 - OK if that's your thing. Golf events great

Saudi - very different in terms of tourist experience. Some great sights further afield that you wont see if in Riyadh for the Ruiz fight though - Mada'in Saleh, Edge of the World. In terms of sport only went to the gee-gees there at Riyadh Equestrian Club. No booze in the country but the shelves of the local supermarkets close to expat compounds are arranged as such so there's a homebrew isle - fizzy apple/grape juice/non alcohol malt drinks, sugar etc all in one place. Big expat scene but that's a pretty closed community with events at various Embassies in the Diplomatic Quarter (alcohol served as foreign soil) or on compounds that as a visitor you'll not get to see. If you're a curious tourist go but if you think it's going to be Dubai - don't.

 

[Pavilionaire]

You couldn't pay me to go to that ridiculous bent World Cup they're hosting. I hope it turns out to be a catastrophic failure on every level.

It will be a soulless VARFest played out in front of mediocre crowds in over-priced stadia, half of which will probably never get used again.

 

[blue-shifted]

I'd be lying if I said I won't be tuning in as well. But I will be heartened to see sparsely populated stadiums, so FIFA can end up as suitably embarrassed as their IAAF counterparts. I expect the major matches will be well attended, but some of the lesser nations they'll probably have to bus in a load of migrant workers to pad it out.

I'd be amazed if all the matches don't sell out. However, there will be thousands who will apply for random tickets hoping to get to see England (or Germany, Spain whatever) end up with Tunisia v New Zealand, would have actually gone had the tournament been held somewhere vaguely sensible, but decide they can't be arsed.

 

[blue-shifted]

It will be a soulless VARFest played out in front of mediocre crowds in over-priced stadia, half of which will probably never get used again.

Unfortunately every top level football match will now be a VAR fest, and all the more soulless for it

 

[essbee1]

You couldn't pay me to go to that ridiculous bent World Cup they're hosting. I hope it turns out to be a catastrophic failure on every level.

This.

 

[Easy 10]

Here's a video of the 800m women's final. The Games were viewed as the test event for the Worlds.

There was virtually no-one in the stadium then.

Nothing was ever likely to change.

It was delusional for the IAAF to think otherwise.

It wasn't delusional, I'm sure they'll have been fully aware. Taking the Championships to a tiny, oppressive desert state, with no sporting heritage or pedigree whatsover, with a population of around 2.5m people, 90% of which is made up of migrant workers, it was obvious the crowds would be fairly pathetic.

Everyone knows the real reason Qatar were awarded the World Championships, just as we all know why they were awarded the World Cup. It would be wonderful if those World Cup stadiums are just as empty come 2022.

 

[Mr Blobby]

I went to Doha when England played Brazil in a friendly in 2009. I go to away games to explore places, but there is TBH very little to do there. We went to the sand dunes in a 4x4 and petrol was 13p a litre. You couldn't go far because somewhere in the sand is the boarder with Saudi Arabia and the countries do not get on with each other. Beer was restricted to certain foreign owned hotels and incredibly expensive. We visited the old Souq which was worth a visit. The heat was incredible and made walking around incredibly uncomfortable. I will be another boycotting the finals if England make it through, I haven't missed England in a major finals since my first in Italy in 1990, but other than flying in and out of Doha for games (which will be mega expensive) I have no desire to site around Doha city doing FA for 3/4 weeks.

Qatar is the richest country per capita, but its obvious they have no interest in Athletics, I don't imagine ticket prices an issue. The play will not attract many tourists, hence the low turn out in the stadium of foreign supporters. Like the football WC going there its 100% about the cash and corruption and nothing about expanding the sport in the region.

 

[hart's shirt]

UAE - first game I went to was UAE v Brazil in '05 - Kaka and co - was OK as an experience; the FIFA World Club Cups in 2010/11 were great through - really well organised. Just popping down the national stadium after work to catch Estudiantes v Barca. Rugby 7s in Dubai brilliant year after year. The nags - Dubai World Cup supposed to be good but I've not done that particular meet. Mubadala Tennis OK. Abu Dhabi F1 - OK if that's your thing. Golf events great

Good post, JG. It's easy for outsiders to lump all the ME countries together, but they're quite different, especially when it comes to sport.

I was there for the UAE v Brazil game too! Watched Real Madrid a few times over here during the European winter break. Rugby 7s is always amazing - no problem getting 40,000 people in a stadium over 2 days for that. 50th anniversary of the 7s - Kylie's performing this year on the Friday. The racing World Cup at Meydan is certainly an experience too, as much for the entertainment on offer as anything. Even if Lewis has it sewn up by then, it's the F1 in December. Tickets for the Dubai Dubai Free tennis used to be AED 100 for the Men's Final - around 23 quid to see Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray et al. Golf's a great watch here too - some of the events are free to watch.

There's certainly appetite for sport in the region, but certainly not athletics in Doha which is an unmitigated, but entirely predictable and preventable farce.

 

[hart's shirt]

It wasn't delusional, I'm sure they'll have been fully aware. Taking the Championships to a tiny, oppressive desert state, with no sporting heritage or pedigree whatsover, with a population of around 2.5m people, 90% of which is made up of migrant workers, it was obvious the crowds would be fairly pathetic.

Everyone knows the real reason Qatar were awarded the World Championships, just as we all know why they were awarded the World Cup. It would be wonderful if those World Cup stadiums are just as empty come 2022.

If that's the case, more fool the IAAF for believing their own hype and thinking that it might somehow be different. They've commented on the 'disappointing' numbers.

There seems to be some surprise on the BBC website that the numbers are so small. What exactly were the commentators and journalists expecting?

If they'd done any research, they'd have seen the tiny numbers back in April and also for the May Diamond League meeting.



Yes, the whole awarding process for Doha 2019 and FIFA 2022 has been based on corruption and malpractice from the very start.

It's been equally fascinating and depressing to learn that there are 2 major sports bodies that are as unethical as the IOC.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

But Richard 'monkey hands' Keyes reckons it's going to be the best world cup ever and everyone who says ANYTHING remotely negative about the country or the region is completely wrong and doesn't know what they're talking about.

The athletics is a complete shambles. I've run races with bigger crowds watching!

 

[zefarelly]

Have you been to a football match recently? The Arabs are paragons of tolerance compared to Barber and the Amex stewards!

(Smiley face to indicate a tongue in cheek comment)

Ilike to live life on the edge, taking a lid into games with me, and even sneaking wine onto the terraces. I wasn't expecting the edge to be up on a gallows however.

 

[Blue3]

The stadium is fantastic but looses two points as no beer and a further four points for no roof while having air Conditioning! 4/10
The athletics has been good 9/10
The IAAF for choosing such a location 1/10
The crowds there are none 1/10
If this is what the World Cup is going to be like 0/10

 

[Easy 10]

The stadium is fantastic but looses two points as no beer and a further four points for no roof while having air Conditioning! 4/10
The athletics has been good 9/10
The IAAF for choosing such a location 1/10
The crowds there are none 1/10
If this is what the World Cup is going to be like 0/10

 

[Blue3]

A roof without a big hole to let the expensively produced cool air out of

 

[Easy 10]

A roof without a big hole to let the expensively produced cool air out of

Well it was never going to be an indoor World Cup was it.

Actually, thinking about it, I wouldn't put anything past FIFA now.

 

[Mr Blobby]

Liverpool will soon be playing in one of the new stadiums. They wont need to be air conditioned at the time of year its taking place.

here

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It wasn't delusional, I'm sure they'll have been fully aware. Taking the Championships to a tiny, oppressive desert state, with no sporting heritage or pedigree whatsover, with a population of around 2.5m people, 90% of which is made up of migrant workers, it was obvious the crowds would be fairly pathetic.

Everyone knows the real reason Qatar were awarded the World Championships, just as we all know why they were awarded the World Cup. It would be wonderful if those World Cup stadiums are just as empty come 2022.

This.

I understand the concept of 'widening participation' and am happy with it. But leasing the athletics franchise or the world cup franchise to a rich dictatorship, so that it can bask in a vainglorious ego trip, while their population stays at home, largely oblivious, is so ****ed-up it beggars belief. And it undermines the notion of widening participation by making the casual punter think that widening participation must be at fault.

 

[Easy 10]

"Lord" Coe has had a pop at the BBC coverage and the criticisms directed at the empty stadium:

"“It’s very easy to sit there and make all sorts of Gabby Logan-type judgments over three or four days and clear off back to Match of the Day,” said Coe, seemingly ignoring the fact that Logan also presents the BBC’s coverage of Diamond League athletics, Six Nations rugby, and other sports. "But it’s really important that we see the long-term development of our sport,” added Coe. “That’s not going to be done because we have challenges over ticketing in a stadium for three days. The problem I’ve got with that is it’s the way our sport is being portrayed by some of the people in that studio.”

“I’ve got people, whose judgment I do trust, who are saying it would be great if a 1min 42.4sec run and some great performances were being dissected,” he said. “The crowd is an easier subject to talk about rather than some of the more insightful stuff around the events. I accept that, that’s the world we live in.

“There are places which are going to take longer for us to go to, but people have to believe this sport is theirs, it’s not just rooted in a handful of European capitals.”

“I was on the indoor, the outdoor track, they are not talking about the crowds. Can I just be a bit blunt about this, the athletes talking about externalities are probably not the ones who are going to be walking home with medals from here. Go figure.”

I figure that you're a self-serving, slippery, smarmy corrupt prick, Seb. And you talk utter shit.

 

[blue-shifted]

"Lord" Coe has had a pop at the BBC coverage and the criticisms directed at the empty stadium:

"“It’s very easy to sit there and make all sorts of Gabby Logan-type judgments over three or four days and clear off back to Match of the Day,” said Coe, seemingly ignoring the fact that Logan also presents the BBC’s coverage of Diamond League athletics, Six Nations rugby, and other sports. "But it’s really important that we see the long-term development of our sport,” added Coe. “That’s not going to be done because we have challenges over ticketing in a stadium for three days. The problem I’ve got with that is it’s the way our sport is being portrayed by some of the people in that studio.”

“I’ve got people, whose judgment I do trust, who are saying it would be great if a 1min 42.4sec run and some great performances were being dissected,” he said. “The crowd is an easier subject to talk about rather than some of the more insightful stuff around the events. I accept that, that’s the world we live in.

“There are places which are going to take longer for us to go to, but people have to believe this sport is theirs, it’s not just rooted in a handful of European capitals.”

“I was on the indoor, the outdoor track, they are not talking about the crowds. Can I just be a bit blunt about this, the athletes talking about externalities are probably not the ones who are going to be walking home with medals from here. Go figure.”


I figure that you're a self-serving, slippery, smarmy corrupt prick, Seb. And you talk utter shit.

And I'd probably ask Seb, is Gabby Logan making judgements or is she just asking the questions that her viewers want to hear asked?

 

[Easy 10]

And I'd probably ask Seb, is Gabby Logan making judgements or is she just asking the questions that her viewers want to hear asked?

Indeed. Then there's this pearler:

"I’ve got people, whose judgment I do trust, who are saying it would be great if a 1min 42.4sec run and some great performances were being dissected,” he said. “The crowd is an easier subject to talk about rather than some of the more insightful stuff around the events. I accept that, that’s the world we live in"

Newsflash for Seb - Gabby and the pundits absolutely HAVE been discussing the great performances of the athletes, with all the usual detailed analysis. Whats been impossible to ignore though are the banks and banks of empty seats on full display in the stadium behind them. So what he means is "please stop discussing what an embarrassing cock-up I and the IAAF have made in bringing these Championships to the arse-end of a dustbowl where nobody gives a f*ck about athletics".