Footage of the accommodation at the 2022 Qatar World Cup has leaked online and appears to show the shocking state of the rooms many fans are paying a significant amount to stay in.
Videos of the supposed standard of hotel rooms have been circulating online with various people joking that these so-called rooms are the World Cup equivalent of Fyre Festival.
As you can see in the original Snapchat clip reshared below, the person filming tours around rows upon rows of shoddy, bare-bone and flimsy-looking tents lined up along a road that also looks barely finished.
The entrance to each of these tents is marked by nothing more than a door pattern on one fluttering sheet of plastic, with the caption quite rightly noting that “if there is a sand storm you can kiss those tents goodbye”.
With the temperatures in the Middle Eastern country expected to easily break 30C during the day even in the winter, the presence of tents and easily ventilated accommodation shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, it’s fair to say that the quality of these lodgings leaves a lot to be desired and they don’t look very stable when you take more severe weather conditions into account. Even more staggeringly, the 6,000 rooms in this 3.1 square kilometre fan park are reported to be worth $100 (approx. £84) a pop.
While these obviously don’t look like the most luxurious lot of tents you’d expect from an oil-rich nation’s tourist offerings, the same account flagged that this is not the most high-end option available to fans attending the tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
Responding to a commenter, user Chris went on to share footage of a more upmarket and sturdier-looking structure complete with shower facilities, a lounge and a more grand bedroom. He also quoted cargo container rooms from around $200 and his own two-bedroom apartment for $460 per night.
U get what u pay for. I think those tents are just under $100 per night way outside of the city. I hear the containers are $200 but are alot better in the city. I think we are paying $460 per night in a 2BR apartment near the metro station in Doha. pic.twitter.com/TVA5bfcN0J
Nevertheless, we won’t get to see what the true hospitality experience for most fans is going to look like until we see footage from travelling supporters themselves.
Budget option or not, we suspect most would have been hoping for more than what they currently look to be paying for, with many declaring the footage as “#fyrefestival 2.0” and an “absolute joke”. Wait until they see the food…
Featured Image — @Chris120778 (via Twitter)/@adeltayeb69 (via Snapchat)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
16th November 2022 
