In just over a week the football world will descend on Qatar and Telegraph Sport has witnessed first hand the work still to be done
Workers in the 2022 World Cup host city of Doha are labouring late into the night in a race against time to get the streets and fan zones ready for the start of the tournament in the tiny Middle East nation of Qatar in 11 days.
Around the key areas of the city, which looks out over the Persian Gulf, workers are putting the finishing touches to fan zones and parts of the infrastructure, but organisers are confident that the country will be ready in time for the first game and opening ceremony a week on Sunday.
Nevertheless, preparations for this tournament – awarded amid Fifa corruption and general disbelief to the oil and gas-rich nation almost 12 years ago – look like they will go right down to the wire. Those familiar with the process have said that in many aspects over the past 10 years, Qatar has left it late. The country’s eight stadiums and its new Metro system have been operational for some time.
There is work continuing late into every night to prepare the official Fifa fan area – the Fifa Fan Festival – at the Al Bidda Park on the city’s Corniche highway, the road that follows Doha’s seafront. The fan festival is designed to accommodate as many as 40,000, opening on Nov 19, one day before hosts Qatar kick off against Ecuador in the first match of the tournament.