 appear to be staying in the same apartment block in the appropriately named Al Sadd district of Doha. It's a weird social experiment to discover how many planet-sized egos can be crammed into the most soulless space imaginable before it all kicks off. And the way things are going I wouldn't bet on everyone making it safely home at the end of the tournament. We've already seen one Danish TV crew being harassed and threatened by Qatari security for having the temerity to film a roundabout near a department store. But there are so many rules and protocols to follow out here that you risk the wrath of the authorities every time you step onto the streets. No booze, no vapes, no sausages, no porn, no painkillers, no gays, no swearing, no public displays of affection. PLAY OUR DREAM TEAM WORLD CUP FANTASY FOOTBALL GAME TO WIN A SHARE OF £50k Even previous World Cup hosts Russia were easy going compared to this lot. It's not that the reception we have received has been hostile or unwelcoming. Far from it in fact. But they are so used to following the strict letter of the law that they simply can't countenance the idea of compromise. Having said all that, I think I am still waiting to meet my first){kind=link}
DAY THREE in the Big Brother house and the inmates are already threatening to go full Lord of the Flies.
And, yes, we’ve already identified Piggy.
So it’s probably a good job that we’re holed up in a country where alcohol is forbidden – unless you count the fan zone’s £12-a-pint Budweiser, which barely counts as booze.
Welcome to Qatar, the beautiful desert land of sun, sand and concrete.
With all the matches being staged within spitting distance of each other, for the first ever World Cup, all of Fleet Street’s finest sportswriters (plus a few of us pretenders) appear to be staying in the same apartment block in the appropriately named Al Sadd district of Doha.