lionheart

It's rather worrying to see the attendance at a recent Asian Cup match between neighbours Saudi Arabia and favourites Japan. Do they honestly think they can host a World Cup tournament with that type of local support?

"Few people came to see the two former champions...with the official attendance given as 2,022 at Al-Rayyan stadium."

flares

Good blog on European Football Weekends Website...

http://europeanfootballweekends.blog...-in-qatar.html

Have Qatar, will travel

Not stictly speaking a European Football Weekend, but when the legend that is our big hearted German friend Stoffers, rides off to Qatar for the Asian Cup, then we're willing to waive the small print:


I must admit I still haven't fully recovered from the moment when Sepp Blatter opened that envelope some five weeks ago to reveal Qatar as hosts of the 2022 World Cup. Not that any FIFA decision should still surprise me, but honestly, why would anyone in their right mind award a major football tournament to tiny peninsula with a single city, where summer temperatures of more than 45°C are not unheard of? A place where football still ranks way behind falconry and camel racing as the #1 sport? Or even dune bashing (more about that later). Well, we all know the answer, don't we?

Anyway, I started to develop some interest about the place and consulted the interweb to learn more. And behold, I found out that Qatar will also be hosting the 2011 Asian Cup finals this January – a much better time to play football in the Gulf region anyway, with daytime highs of no more than 25°C (and apparantly someone must have told FIFA by now anyway). Well, that would actually make a nice break from the terrible winter here in Berlin, I thought, and so I called up a few people who might feel likewise. With a clash between Iraq and Iran waiting for us, the two Koreas participating (not in the same group though), and footballing minnows like Uzbekistan or India mingling with big weights like Japan and Australia, it became clear: We had to go on our first ever QFW - Qatari Football Weekend! (Haha! Very original –Ed.)

Weebie

That match was a total dead rubber.

Also I;m sure th stadiums liek all world cup matches in the past two tournaments will be major sell outs.

co durham boy

I went to India v Austrailia last week and i was 20 mins late getting in . I stood at the gate with my ticket and the Police told me the stadium was full.
When i suggested that this couldnt be possible because i have a ticket and i'm standing outside waiting to get in , obviously this was lost in the space between the young mans ears.

Eventually when i got in it was just over half full . They have not got one clue how to run an event of even that stature with piss poor attendances.

It's just pretending to these people , they haven't got the experience , they haven't got the mentality , they've just got money.......

Bahtatboy

The Major: Strange creatures, women. I knew one once... striking-looking girl... tall, you know... father was a banker.
Basil: Really?
The Major: Don't remember the name of the bank.
Basil: Never mind.
The Major: I must have been rather keen on her because I took her to see... India!
Basil: India?

co durham boy

....Classic

lionheart

Japan needed to win to qualify I believe...and NO they will not all be sell-outs if held in Qatar and those that do achieve that feat will not be full houses. There is a subtle difference between a sell-out and a full house, as you presumably know.

flares

One's a poker hand, the other's a guy called Sepp

Darkwan

I had a similar experience at the Club World Cup. I turned up to buy a ticket at the gates and was told there were no tickets left, the game was sold out. Just as I turned around to walk away, what I assume was a local official asked me how many VIP tickets I wanted. I got in to the see the sold out game, a third full.

I got to find out later, they were paying the labourers AED30 to turn up for the games.

I got free tickets to all games apart from the final.

co durham boy

They've got no idea mate , it's all superficial and all about face , they'd rather make a heavy loss than for someone to realise they're a bunch of chumps.

They couldn't run a bath..!

Alexa

Ahhhhhh, that's why there were all those buses with labourers in that area. I was wondering what they were doing there that time of the evening. Blocking all traffic, of course.
I have also heard that tickets are given to corporations as "gifts". , It seems that most people who receive those tickets are not interested in footie. Therefore stadia sold out, very few people there...and some of those who actually want tickets can't get any.
Plus, as we all know traffic here, people often prefer to watch games on tv, plus at home or hotels there is access to "refreshments". Which obviously is not so in the actual stadia.

Bahtatboy

When's Ramadamadingdong in 2012? Presumably they're going to try to miss that.

flares

yeah by about 10 years

The Dean

Yes - and barely 3,000 to watch that classic China v Uzbekistan match. True, neither country is well represented among football-following expats there, but what a game everyone missed.

What I don't understand is that even Qatar's games are half-empty........?

By the way - the author of that blog should get himself a football education: Uzbekistan are good possibilities to reach the final..........