A fan of Mexico walks outside the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha on Nov. 19, 2022 ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images
Twenty-four hours ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, fans are pouring in to the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar, though human-rights concerns and questions over how a conservative Muslim country will deal with the influx of foreigners continue to dog the tournament.
The topic on everyone’s lips Saturday was the Qatari authorities reversing a decision to allow beer to be sold at stadiums, a last-minute move that will limit the sale of alcohol to specially-designated fan zones. Speaking to the press early in the day, FIFA president Gianni Infantino downplayed the issue, saying “if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive.”
But the rule change has renewed concerns over whether Qatar will backtrack on other commitments, such as welcoming LGBTQ people despite a ban on homosexuality in the country.
For most fans who spoke to The Globe and Mail in Doha on Saturday, the alcohol decision wasn’t much of a surprise. Canadian Peter McCormick, who had flown in with his family from Ottawa, said he “always kind of expected it.”
“They were on, clearly, the fence from the beginning,” he said.
For some, the news came as they were mid-flight to Doha.
“My girlfriend told me this morning,” said Paul Gayet, a British fan. But given the sale of alcohol is banned at stadiums back home, as in many European countries – a legacy of laws to tackle hooliganism – Mr. Gayet said he never really expected anything different from Qatar.
“I’m a Tottenham fan and I went a bit too hard at Marseille recently and can’t even remember the game, so maybe this will help me.”
He was impressed by Qatar, particularly the provision of free transport for all fans and the atmosphere that was gradually building Saturday as people flew in from all over the world.
“It’s been mega so far,” Mr. Gayet said. “We ran into all these Senegal fans coming off the metro, and then a load of Argentinians, it’s been absolutely brilliant.”
Such proximity with other fans was one of the qualities Mr. Infantino touted in Qatar’s favour Saturday. The emirate – not much bigger than Prince Edward Island – is the smallest country ever to host the World Cup. This means visitors are all essentially sharing one city, not dotted around various locations as at previous tournaments.
Other unique aspects of Qatar are less welcome, not the least the heat. The climate remains punishing even in mid-November, particularly on the concrete flats of the Fan Festival area in downtown Doha – where tens of thousands are expected to gather every evening to watch musical and other performances, with hefty prices for refreshments and scant shade.
Fans can, however, seek out shade – or even air conditioning. Around World Cup areas, hundreds of security and liaison staff were left standing out in the heat all day, pointing fans the way to various venues.
Worker rights were one of the main concerns heading into the World Cup, and one of the areas where Qatar has made the most progress – at least on paper. In his press conference Saturday, Mr. Infantino pointed to the abolition of the kafala system, whereby migrant workers were essentially indentured to their employers, and limits on how much people could be expected to work outside in summer.
“How many of these European or Western companies who earn millions and millions from Qatar or other countries in the region, billions a year, how many of them have addressed migrant-worker rights with the authorities?” he said of FIFA’s efforts. “I have the answer for you: none of them. Because any change to the legislation means less profit.”
The FIFA president rejected concerns that people might not watch the tournament out of disapproval of Qatar’s treatment of workers or criminalization of homosexuality.
“If you want to stay home and say how bad they are, these Arabs or Muslims or whatever, because it’s not allowed to be publicly gay? Of course I believe it should be allowed, as FIFA president, but I went through a process,” Mr. Infantino said. “If I asked the same question to my father … he would probably have a different answer.”
Mr. McCormick said his decision to come wasn’t influenced by the various criticisms of Qatar. His brother lives in the emirate and the family was always keen to visit – and the World Cup made it the obvious moment to do so.
The Canadian fan was nevertheless slightly taken aback at how controlled everything was.
“We went to the Brazil World Cup in 2014, it was more free,” he said. “Here there’s security everywhere, it’s a lot more organized but it’s also a lot more limited.”
How those security deal with the hordes of fans who will be moving around the country in coming days remains to be seen. The authorities have promised a “soft” approach, and liaison officers from Britain and a number of other countries are working with them to mediate any incidents that arise.
The potential for irate fans remains high, particularly with some stadiums being in remote locations that are only accessible by bus – often with a long walk in the sun to reach the transport.
Concerns also remain around fan villages, the hastily constructed temporary housing that thousands of people are staying in for the duration of the tournament. Many are arriving this weekend to find their villages still under construction and often lacking in facilities, refreshments and security.
The Qataris can, at least, depend on public positivity from a certain group of fans: those the authorities paid to fly in and put up in hotels.
“We’re not sure what we can say publicly, whether we’re allowed to criticize things,” said Darius, a paid fan from Ireland who asked to be identified by one name for that very reason. “We haven’t been given any guidelines – only not to do anything that will cause controversy.”
He said he was painfully aware of the criticisms made of the Qatar World Cup: “This was the most conflicted I’ve ever felt about coming on holiday.”
EDMONTON – Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and two assists and Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks captured their first victory of the season, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.
Seth Jones also had a goal and two assists in his 800th career NHL game and Philipp Kurashev scored the other goal for the Blackhawks, who improved to 1-1-1 on the season.
Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers, who fell to 0-2 to start the season on the heels of making it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last season before losing out to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton has been outscored 11-2 in its first two games.
Petr Mrazek had 35 saves in the Chicago net, while Calvin Pickard made 15 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Blackhawks: Former Oiler Taylor Hall now has eight points (2G, 6A) in 12 career games against the team that drafted him first overall in 2010, picking up an assist on Chicago’s first-period goal. There were four former first overall picks playing in the contest in Hall and Bedard for the Hawks and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Edmonton. Nugent-Hopkins picked up his 700th career point in the contest.
Oilers: Oilers defenceman and Edmonton-area product Brett Kulak suited up for his 500th career NHL game. The 30-year-old has been a mainstay since arriving from Montreal at the 2023 NHL trade deadline, playing in all 183 regular-season and 53 playoff games that he could. He has recorded an even 100 points in his career.
KEY MOMENT
The Blackhawks took a two-goal lead with six minutes to play in the middle frame as Bedard used a defender as a screen before ripping a perfect shot glove-side past Pickard for his first of the season.
KEY STAT
With his third period power-play goal, Oilers forward Draisaitl now has a 16-game point streak (13-18-31) against Chicago dating to Oct. 28, 2018 and passed teammate Connor McDavid (15-game streak versus New Jersey) for the NHL’s longest active point streak against one opponent.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Wrap up a four-game road trip in Calgary against the Flames on Tuesday.
Oilers: Host the Flames on Sunday in the third game of a season-starting four-game set at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
CALGARY – Jonathan Huberdeau had two goals and two assists for the Calgary Flames in a 6-3 win in their home-opener over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Nazem Kadri scored twice, including an empty-netter with MacKenzie Weegar and Mikael Backlund each contributing a goal for Calgary (2-0-0).
Flames goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 37 of 40 shots in his season debut.
Travis Konecny scored twice, including one short-handed, and Joel Farabee also had a goal for Philadelphia (1-1-0).
Flyers starter Ivan Fedotov made 27 saves in his first start of the season.
The Flyers played their second road game in as many nights to start their season after a 3-2 shootout win over the Canucks in Vancouver.
The Flames overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Canucks 6-5 in overtime to start their season Wednesday.
TAKEAWAYS
Flyers: Slow start after beating Vancouver in a shootout 24 hours earlier, but scored twice in the second period and trailed by a goal heading into the third.
Flames: Wolf was the difference early stopping all 18 shots he faced in the first period and 37 overall. Calgary’s first goal that deflected off Huberdeau’s shoulder was lucky, but the winger set up Weegar perfectly for a one-timer and a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, assisted on a pair of power-play goals and generated the Flames’ fifth goal.
KEY MOMENT
The Flames converted a five-on-three in the second period into Kadri’s power-play goal and a two-goal lead. Wolf reached back into his crease during a scramble to clear the puck and deny Konecny a potential equalizing goal midway through the third period.
KEY STAT
Philadelphia’s power play, which was the worst in the NHL last season, was 1-for-4 on Saturday and 2-for-8 after two games. Calgary’s went 2-for-5 to be 4-for-9 after two games.
UP NEXT
Flames: Finish a back-to-back weekend on Sunday in Edmonton against the Oilers.
Flyers: Follow the Flames into Edmonton on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens grabbed a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Emil Heineman and Cole Caufield and went on to beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
After Alex Newhook boosted the Canadiens’ lead to 3-0 early in the third period, Tim Stutzle ended Sam Montembeault’s bid for a second consecutive shutout. Montembeault, who made 48 saves in a season-opening win over Toronto, made 24 saves.
Caufield completed the scoring with his second goal of the game and fourth of the season as the Canadiens improved to 2-1, while the Senators slipped to 1-1.
Montreal defenceman Mike Matheson was awarded a penalty shot when he was upended by Jake Sanderson on a rush to the net during a third-period power play. Linus Ullmark, who finished the game with 21 saves, got a piece of the shot which hit the post and went wide.
TAKEAWAYS
The Canadiens won the battle of special teams. Heineman scored a power-play goal with one second remaining in the advantage as Montreal went 1-for-4 with the extra man. Ottawa failed to score on four power plays and were held to three shots on goal.
KEY MOMENT
After facing only four shots in the first period, Montembeault was under pressure in the second period when the Senators outshot the Canadiens 12-3.
KEY STAT
The Canadiens have had one of the worst power plays in the NHL over the past three seasons and the outlook for this season wasn’t bright after the team went 0-for-30 in the pre-season. But Heineman scored his first NHL goal on a power play in the first period to give Montreal a power-play goal in each of its first three regular-season games.
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday afternoon.
Canadiens: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
