[Albion] Rows of empty seats in Doha

[Lenny Rider]

All very well giving the World Athletics Championships to 'new markets', but clearly the locals either don't want to go or can't afford the tickets, and it doesn't seem to be overrun with visiting fans either.


I was thinking of taking Harty Jnr and I to the Ruiz/Joshua rematch in Saudi, but again serious hoop jumping just to get a visa, you currently have to have proof of a hotel booking, flight reservation and a fight ticket when applying, bearing in mind that with just over two months to go and still no tickets on sale, a fall back to Cardiff with the roof closed on 7th Dec will actually become reality.


Will that kind of visa stipulation still be in place for the Qatar World Cup in 2022?

 

[LVGull]

Para words in Dubai soon. Hopefully more will attend

 

[zefarelly]

Para words in Dubai soon. Hopefully more will attend

I doubt it . . . these arab states are some of the most oppressive and least tolerant places on the planet.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

I doubt it . . . these arab states are some of the most oppressive and least tolerant places on the planet.

Nothing compared to East Upper.

 

[MattBackHome]

Bloody PC Police innit.

 

[sydney]

shit hole

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

We can see you sheiking out

 

[Palacefinder General]

They were going to attempt to superimpose images of the ESL at 80 minutes over the Doha seats but realised they were better off sticking with what they had.

 

[LamieRobertson]

They were going to attempt to superimpose images of the ESL at 80 minutes over the Doha seats but realised they were better off sticking with what they had.

What’s that WSL at 75 mins?

 

[Gritt23]

All very well giving the World Athletics Championships to 'new markets', but clearly the locals either don't want to go or can't afford the tickets, and it doesn't seem to be overrun with visiting fans either.

I'll translate for you Harty ...

Official Speak = "New Markets"
Real World = "ooohhh, money!"

 

[albion534]

£8 a pint is prob stopping people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brovion]

Did I read somewhere that the entire stadium is air-conditioned? Hopefully being in the desert that is 100% solar power, otherwise its carbon footprint must be horrendous. Probably a good job nobody flew there as that would have made the environmental damage worse.

 

[Brovion]

I doubt it . . . these arab states are some of the most oppressive and least tolerant places on the planet.

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)

 

[Dave the OAP]

Watching breakfast time, someone was saying that Doha is being blockaded by the countries around it at the moment so getting in and out is practically impossible unless you go via their government appointed tours....

Put a lot of visitors off.

Bring it back to the London stadium, We would have packed it out

 

[blue-shifted]

Did I read somewhere that the entire stadium is air-conditioned? Hopefully being in the desert that is 100% solar power, otherwise its carbon footprint must be horrendous. Probably a good job nobody flew there as that would have made the environmental damage worse.

Why on earth would you go to the effort of installing solar panels when you have enormous quantities of oil you can burn? ....

.... I believe is the approach

 

[Easy 10]

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.

 

[Brovion]

Why on earth would you go to the effort of installing solar panels when you have enormous quantities of oil you can burn? ....

.... I believe is the approach

Yeah, sadly that's probably correct. Climate-wise the World Cup could well be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

 

[blue-shifted]

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.

The trouble is, no matter how much FIFA strain every sinew to cock up everything they do, interest in a world cup is utterly indestructible. There is no situation I can imagine whereby I wouldn't be interested in it. No matter how bad England have been, or even if they weren't there, it's still the best countries in the world playing football against each other, for a prize near universally acclaimed the biggest in football, (and probably sport).

I had moral objections to holding it on a gangster state. I still watched every game. I had moral objections to a tournament with a stadium in a rainforest. I put them aside and went there. I object to the time of year, the blatant corruption, the thousands of needless deaths, the environmental impact and the sickening sportswashing involved in this one. I'll still cancel everything i'm doing to watch to the entire tournament when it come around. As will we all.

 

[hart's shirt]

Para words in Dubai soon. Hopefully more will attend

I'm going.

Nothing to stop expats based out here travelling to Doha at the moment, albeit with 1 airport change. The excuse of the blockade is a complete red herring.

People really shouldn't be at all surprised to see that there isn't anyone there.

Only 5 months ago back in April, Doha hosted the Asian Games - the European Champs equivalent in this part of the world with 43 nations competing.

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.

 

[Easy 10]

The trouble is, no matter how much FIFA strain every sinew to cock up everything they do, interest in a world cup is utterly indestructible. There is no situation I can imagine whereby I wouldn't be interested in it. No matter how bad England have been, or even if they weren't there, it's still the best countries in the world playing football against each other, for a prize near universally acclaimed the biggest in football, (and probably sport).

I had moral objections to holding it on a gangster state. I still watched every game. I had moral objections to a tournament with a stadium in a rainforest. I put them aside and went there. I object to the time of year, the blatant corruption, the thousands of needless deaths, the environmental impact and the sickening sportswashing involved in this one. I'll still cancel everything i'm doing to watch to the entire tournament when it come around. As will we all.

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.