4:14 PM ET
Mark OgdenSenior Writer, ESPN FC
RAS ABU FONTAS, Qatar -- The archetypal happening that strikes you astir the Rawdat Al Jahhaniya Fan Village, a 30-minute thrust extracurricular cardinal Doha, is the deficiency of shade. Just aft 1 p.m. here, fans are watching Switzerland vs. Cameroon connected the large screen, but the legume bags and chairs successful the instrumentality portion country are wholly empty. Some fans person recovered a shaded country adjacent to a elephantine football, but arsenic the prima beats down, the remainder are watching from the on-site Starbucks, choosing to bargain a latte conscionable truthful they're capable to beryllium nether a tiny parasol connected each table.
There are 4 authoritative instrumentality villages successful and astir Doha, each of them built specifically to big the thousands of fans travelling from astir the globe to ticker World Cup games astatine Qatar 2022. Fans tin enactment successful a Bedouin structure astatine Al Khor, the cheapest enactment astatine astir $170 a night, and determination are 3 compartment villages, astatine Zafaran, Free Zone and Rawdat Al Jahhaniya.
At Al Khor, the facilities are basic, with communal washing areas and other charges for Wi-Fi, but the compartment villages -- determination are 1,500 connected site, with country for up to 3,000 visitors per time -- astatine slightest connection showering facilities successful each cabin, astatine a starting terms of $207 a night. But they're not really cabins. They are alloy containers converted into two-bed sleeping rooms; if you tin envisage the shipping containers stacked precocious astatine a engaged port, that's what they look and consciousness like.
It's besides wherefore they person been nicknamed "Portacabin Cities" by those staying there. In the midday Qatar heat, the metallic walls are scorching to touch.
Earlier this week, ESPN reported that the Supreme Committee charged with moving the World Cup for the Qatari authorities had offered refunds to supporters who had booked a enactment astatine the Rawdat Al Jahhaniya campy lone to find their accommodation to beryllium nonexistent due to the fact that the task was unfinished. In a statement, the Supreme Committee blamed "operator negligence" and said the campy had "not met the required standards arsenic advertised to fans." In addition, those fans who had booked unfinished accommodation were told they would beryllium allowed to enactment for escaped for the duration of their enactment successful Qatar.
Not lone were the fans' accommodations unfinished but immoderate arrived to spot toilets and washbasins inactive waiting to beryllium installed, with operation workers connected tract attempting to hastily decorativeness their work.
But however atrocious are the instrumentality camps? They connection fund accommodation to fans who are prepared to prevention connected their sleeping arrangements simply to ticker games astatine the World Cup. Having visited the Rawdat Al Jahhaniya campy this week, ESPN spoke to supporters astir their acquisition truthful acold and the effect was mostly positive.
"The accommodation is OK," Majid, a Manchester United instrumentality from Saudi Arabia, told ESPN. "It is basic, but the aerial conditioning works well, truthful the cabins are not excessively hot.
"I americium staying with 3 friends, and we are enjoying ourselves. There are supporters from each implicit the satellite -- Saudi, Iran, England, Wales -- and we are having a bully time. It is nary problem. Even the Argentina fans were affable aft we bushed them."
When you locomotion astir the campy -- though determination is information astatine the entrance, determination are nary checks connected radical coming and going -- determination are neat rows of cabins linked by fake writer walkways. The campy is fixed immoderate colour by flags of the competing nations successful Qatar, with cabins painted brightly successful red, yellowish and orange, but astatine the acold broadside of the camp, determination is simply a sizable country that is inactive a literal gathering site, with small motion of enactment being done.
In the finished area, cleaning unit are going into the cabins, changing towels and sheets, but it is quiescent speech from those who are watching the football. There is simply a tented eating canteen and an outdoor fittingness country consisting of cross-trainers, value machines and treadmills, but the lone idiosyncratic utilizing it successful the vigor is simply a young kid who is having amusive trying to sprint faster than the treadmill volition fto him go.
It's besides an alcohol-free camp, truthful the Starbucks stall appears to beryllium the main hub of activity. Suhaib, a Liverpool instrumentality wearing an England shirt, spoke to ESPN portion waiting to beryllium served, and he's keen to support the standards.
"I americium booked successful for 12 days, and it's fine," helium said. "I was a spot disquieted earlier I came retired present due to the fact that I had work the scare stories successful the media and seen the pictures, but I've been to a fewer tournaments with England and this is nary worse than others I person been to. When I went to France for Euro 2016, the instrumentality accommodation was much costly and didn't person the facilities we person here.
"Yes, determination are a fewer small gripes -- the aerial con is noisy, truthful you person to crook it disconnected astatine nighttime -- but everyone is getting connected and making the astir of it. At the extremity of the day, it's little than £200 a night, truthful you can't expect five-star luxury, but I person travelled present with my brother, who is disabled, and the radical present person been precise adjuvant and accommodating wherever we person been. I person nary complaints astir the hospitality of the Qatari people."
Booking the accommodation tin beryllium difficult. ESPN has tried to reserve a compartment for a one-night stay, but erstwhile availability appears connected the authoritative site, it states a minimum of 2 nights indispensable beryllium booked and past shows nary availability erstwhile you click the fastener to pay. In a telephone speech with the instrumentality tract helpline connected Thursday, the effect was that the strategy was "under maintenance" truthful "please telephone backmost tomorrow."
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Two Wales supporters who didn't privation to beryllium named spoke to ESPN portion watching the Switzerland game, and said they were blessed successful the camp. "Things are what you marque them," 1 said. "We could kick astir the sporadic quality of the cleaning work oregon the sound [of the air-conditioning], but for us, this is portion of the World Cup experience.
"It's a spot similar being astatine Glastonbury [a large euphony festival successful England]. Everyone is present for the aforesaid thing, and we each knew what we were booking. It looks a spot bleak erstwhile you arrive, but erstwhile you talk to the radical successful the adjacent compartment and commencement talking football, you hide immoderate concerns."
There is possibly immoderate irony successful that. While FIFA effort to polish the representation of shot and with PR rotation from president Gianni Infantino, the existent unit for bully is those supporters who person been thrown together. Despite cohabiting the astir basal and austere accommodations, they're embracing the moment, sharing stories and creating friendships with fans from different nations and each kinds of cultures.
So far, shot does look to beryllium bringing radical unneurotic successful metallic containers successful the desert. Yet surely you won't beryllium seeing that successful FIFA's glossy appraisal of Qatar 2022 aft it's over.
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