While Russia may not take part in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it will still be present. In the form of fans who will have their own fan zone. At least that, according to the TASS agency, was the subject of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and the Emir of Qatar.
There is only a month left until the World Cup in Qatar. And the news is getting more and more absurd. While, among other things, Turkish emergency services are protecting World Cup visitors in Qatar and Great Britain's Royal Air Force is controlling the airspace, NATO is instructing Qatar on how to avert danger and the USA are checking people entering the country, the fans need not fear. The World Cup host has set up protection zones for them if they have to be drunk.
So after visiting the Doha fan festival, where they can drink from 6:30 p.m., the fans can spend some time in peace and maybe even think about how the Russian fans are doing. Although the Russian national team was not allowed to qualify for the tournament for understandable reasons, they will still be able to experience the tournament. Among other things, also in fan zones specially set up for them. At least that is what the Russian news agency TASS suggests.
He met the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, yesterday as part of the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, and what was discussed is now becoming public. Or rather, what might have been discussed. Because it is still TASS, an agency that, to put it kindly, is not undisputed. "I would like to thank you for organizing and setting up a fan zone for Russian football fans," Putin is said to have said to the emir and, of course, wished him every success in hosting the tournament.
Indeed, Russia has experience in hosting a World Cup. In 2018, it organized the last World Cup with a total of twelve stadiums in eleven venues. After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian national team was banned from all FIFA competitions and therefore could not take part in the European playoffs for the last World Cup tickets. However, the Football Union of Russia remains in FIFA.
Both Qatar and Russia were announced as hosts when the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were awarded in early December 2010. Even at this point, the award to both countries was highly controversial. At that time, however, allegations of corruption prevailed in the first place.
