The FIFA World Cup organizers believe that the start of the game would put an end to the scandals that have clouded preparations for the event.
DOHA: Qatar will face Ecuador in the World Cup opener on Sunday, as the month-long football extravaganza finally gets off following a grueling 12-year build-up marred by off-field issues.
Foreign government leaders, VIPs, and celebrities were among those in attendance as the inaugural Arab World Cup kicked off at the Bedouin tent-inspired Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Doha.
The arena is one of a slew of new stadiums erected for the game, which is expected to cost Qatar $200 billion, making it the most costly World Cup in history.
Jung Kook, a South Korean K-pop artist, led the 30-minute opening event, which organizers claimed highlighted values of “humanity, respect, and inclusivity.”
Foreign dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony on Sunday included Saudi Arabia’s strong Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who spearheaded a regional boycott of Qatar in 2017.
The World Cup organizers believe that the opening of the competition would put an end to the problems that have surrounded preparations for the game since Qatar was selected host country in a surprise FIFA vote in 2010.
The treatment of migrant workers in Qatar, as well as the Gulf state’s human rights record, have dominated pre-tournament headlines.
On Saturday, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, went on the attack in a strong rejection of the criticism that was targeted at the event. He said that the majority of the criticism was unjust and that the event did not deserve the opprobrium that it was receiving.
Even once the competition has begun, there will very certainly be a continuation of the controversy that has been building up.
Many of the participating European countries, including England, Germany, and Denmark, have announced that their national teams’ players would show their support for gender minority communities by donning rainbow-colored “OneLove” armbands.
This conduct increases the likelihood that FIFA may take disciplinary action, given the governing body recently disclosed that it intends to make accessible to teams it’s very own substitute armbands.
Infantino stressed that spectators of the World Cup will be accepted irrespective of their sexual orientation at any time.
