After the angst and the acrimony, Doha woke on Sunday to the opening day of a Fifa World Cup on home soil.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the president of football's world governing body, Gianni Infantino, gave a truly extraordinary address, where he rounded on critics, both of his organisation and the host nation.
Later that day, Doha felt, finally, like it served as stage to the world’s most high-profile single-sports event. It has been a slow burn, less boisterous than Brazil in 2014 on that final stretch of preparation, less riotous that Russia – even if the most recent host took a while to warm up, too.
Not long after 7pm on Saturday, a full day out from The Big Kick-Off between home hope Qatar and South America’s Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium, fireworks and drones lit up the sky above the just-opened Fifa Fan Festival. “Welcome to Qatar” read the message.
Organisers crave that the football, comprising 64 matches across 29 days, will provide welcome respite from the controversy and the critics, the Middle East’s first World Cup and the most compact in competition history sure to offer plentiful highlights and hot debate on the pitch, even if Infantino’s insistence that it will be the “best in history” – wasn’t that uttered four years ago, also? – jarred somewhat.
For there have been issues, serious and sustained, from the award of the event to Qatar 12 years ago all the way through the Fifa president’s offensive on Saturday.
Qatar has had more than a decade and spent, reportedly, $200 billion in preparation. In 2018, Russia was estimated to have parted with $11bn to put on the whole jamboree. For that, the small, energy-rich Gulf state really should be ready.
A day out, it appeared to be getting there. As mentioned, the Fifa Fan Festival was at last awash with people, and by 8pm the endless line of volunteers and security guards on the trek through the landscaped Al Bidda Park declared through megaphones that it could not take anybody more. Full – its official capacity sits at 40,000 – thousands of fans were ushered towards other activation sites along the Corniche.
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This World Cup certainly strikes a more family-friendly tone than Brazil or Russia. Perhaps that’s to do with the scarcity of alcohol. Maybe it’s that, until now, the majority of those making the most of the Fifa circus in town are those that reside in that town all year round.
Hefty groups of visiting fans are seemingly yet to flood Doha, although you are never far from an Argentina replica shirt, hugely popular, apparently, among the city’s many expatriates from the Middle East and Asia. Brazil, still some way back, sit second.
There are a few street hawkers, some flogging giant Portugal flags, some curly wigs in the host country’s maroon and white, some airhorns and some those omnipresent Argentina jerseys.
It would not surprise if they were all sourced at Souq Waqif. The traditional market, not far from the Corniche and the plush Downtown Doha where certain roads have been closed to cope with the arrival of an extra 1.2 million visitors over the next month, was alive with noise and national pride on Saturday night.
Brazil the last team to arrive in Qatar
Tunisians sang songs, chanted names and waved giant flags; Moroccans took residence outside the huge television studios that back onto the souq and witnessed the reverie through giant, hopefully soundproof, floor-to-ceiling windows. Saudi Arabians posed for pictures in their kanduras with those bedecked in Qatar’s colours. Remember, this represents the first World Cup held in the Arab world.
Elsewhere, a smattering of Argentines happily gave strangers a go on banging their blue and white drum; a similarly sized collection of Brazilians with plastic World Cup trophies and yellow and green face paint filed through the souq’s narrow alleyways, drawing smiles and iPhones from shop workers. Just out of view, a young Mexican had a ride on a camel in the temporary sand pit.
Still, it will be intriguing to see if Doha is dominated by the World Cup like hosts before them. Yes, hoardings and signage scream “Fifa World Cup”, “Qatar 2022”, and “Now Is All” – the official tournament slogan. Gleaming skyscrapers in the city centre and West Bay area display in neon the national flags of participating countries, or their facades are covered by colossal images of Manuel Neuer, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi and others.
It remains to be seen if the smallest country to stage a World Cup can cope with the influx – an estimated 60,000 fans from Mexico are anticipated, 40,000 from Argentina, not to mention many more from neighbouring Saudi.
During the weekend, the impressive metro’s carriages – the underground transport system’s construction was expedited because of the World Cup – were congested. From Tuesday, beginning with Argentina against Saudi at the 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, there will be four matches a day through until December 2.
On Sunday, though, there’s only one show in town. The buzz has been building, bunting frames the streets. Qataris are genuinely excited for the occasion. Twelve years in the making, they stage their first World Cup match.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
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- Financial well-being incentives
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
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Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
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Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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four stars
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
