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FIFA President Gianni Infantino (2ndR) and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud through the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar.
Amin Mohammad Jamali | Getty Photographs Sport | Getty Photographs
The 2022 World Cup kicks off Sunday shrouded in accusations of human rights violations and last-minute controversy surrounding host Qatar.
1,000,000 supporters from world wide will descend on the small however rich Gulf nation to look at stars from 32 nations face off over the subsequent 4 weeks within the males’s soccer event, which is the world’s second-largest sporting occasion after the Olympics.
The time of yr and site — that is the primary World Cup to happen within the Center East — meant the occasion had lengthy promised to be not like another earlier than it, however Friday’s information that alcohol gross sales can be banned from stadium perimeters highlighted the cultural conflict of the conservative emirate internet hosting a worldwide celebration.
World Cup groups and activists have additionally voiced considerations for residents and visiting followers after years of buildup to this yr’s event dominated by criticism of Qatar’s therapy of migrant staff and LGBTQ folks.
The tiny, energy-rich nation’s ruling household and organizers FIFA shall be hoping these points fade away as soon as the motion begins. In a weird press convention on the eve of the event, Gianni Infantino, the pinnacle of world soccer’s governing physique, accused the host’s critics of hypocrisy.
Qatar performs Ecuador at 11 a.m. ET Sunday within the opener, with the USA enjoying its first sport in opposition to Wales at 2 p.m. ET Monday.
“It is exhausting to explain for me,” U.S. Males’s Nationwide Group goalkeeper Matt Turner advised NBC Information. “It is one of many biggest honors in my life,” stated Turner, who additionally performs for English Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Whereas the U.S. isn’t anticipated to take dwelling the trophy, Individuals have flocked to Qatar — after native residents the U.S. bought the best variety of the three million tickets bought.
“I believe we will take all of it the best way,” a bullish Dayton Kendrick, a Houston, Texas native who lives in Doha, stated of the U.S. workforce. “It may be a drive to reckon with.”
The U.S. did not qualify for the final World Cup however now boasts a younger, thrilling squad who largely play for giant groups throughout Europe. It should additionally face England and Iran in Group B over the subsequent two weeks earlier than the event’s knockout rounds start. England is among the many favorites alongside Brazil, France and Argentina.
Kendrick is one in every of many expats who’ve made Qatar dwelling in recent times because it reworked into a contemporary hub enjoying an outsized function on the worldwide stage. Qataris quantity round 350,000, although the conservative Muslim nation is dwelling to round 3 million folks from 90 nations in complete.
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