FIFA President Gianni Infantino (2ndR) and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud throughout 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 Images Sport | Getty Images
The 2022 World Cup kicks off Sunday shrouded in accusations of human rights violations and last-minute controversy surrounding host Qatar.
One million supporters from around the globe will descend on the small but wealthy Gulf nation to look at stars from 32 countries face off over the following 4 weeks in the lads’s soccer tournament, which is the world’s second-largest sporting event after the Olympics.
The time of yr and placement — that is the primary World Cup to happen within the Middle East — meant the event had long promised to be unlike every other before it, but Friday’s news that alcohol sales can be banned from stadium perimeters highlighted the cultural clash of the conservative emirate hosting a world party.
World Cup teams and activists have also voiced concerns for residents and visiting fans after years of buildup to this yr’s tournament dominated by criticism of Qatar’s treatment of migrant employees and LGBTQ people.
The tiny, energy-rich nation’s ruling family and organizers FIFA will probably be hoping those issues fade away once the motion starts. In a bizarre press conference on the eve of the tournament, Gianni Infantino, the top of world soccer’s governing body, accused the host’s critics of hypocrisy.
Qatar plays Ecuador at 11 a.m. ET Sunday within the opener, with the US playing its first game against Wales at 2 p.m. ET Monday.
“It’s hard to explain for me,” U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Matt Turner told NBC News. “It’s considered one of the best honors in my life,” said Turner, who also plays for English Premier League leaders Arsenal.
While the U.S. shouldn’t be expected to take home the trophy, Americans have flocked to Qatar — after local residents the U.S. purchased the best variety of the three million tickets sold.
“I feel we’ll take all of it the best way,” a bullish Dayton Kendrick, a Houston, Texas native who lives in Doha, said of the U.S. team. “It’ll be a force to reckon with.”
The U.S. did not qualify for the last World Cup but now boasts a young, exciting squad who largely play for large teams across Europe. It’ll also face England and Iran in Group B over the following two weeks before the tournament’s knockout rounds begin. England is among the many favorites alongside Brazil, France and Argentina.
Kendrick is considered one of many expats who’ve made Qatar home lately because it transformed into a contemporary hub playing an outsized role on the worldwide stage. Qataris number around 350,000, though the conservative Muslim nation is home to around 3 million people from 90 countries in total.
