Qatar keeps close eye on crowds in Russia

The big numbers of Latin American fans who came to Russia are making 2022 World Cup organizers rethink their own plans for Qatar.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Moscow even when their team wasn’t playing. The much smaller city of Doha would be packed for the tournament’s first two weeks in November 2022 if the same occurred.

In the streets around Red Square, fans from Peru, Mexico and Argentina were a vibrant presence days before the World Cup started.

“What we saw in Moscow, which has two stadiums, is a city can be very quickly overwhelmed by big crowds,” senior Qatari official Nasser Al Khater said. “The fact you’re going to have the fans of 32 teams pretty much in a city I think is going to be electrifying.”

With eight stadiums in Doha or within an hour of travel, the 28-day World Cup is sure to dominate the tiny emirate of only 2.58 million people.

A World Cup host city must have a hub for fans to meet and watch games on giant screens. Though Moscow has its Fan Fest south of the centre, Qatar’s was planned in downtown Al Bidda Park next to Doha Bay.

“It’s in the wrong spot,” Al Khater said. “It would get in the way of a free flow of people.”

Doha will likely have to cope with more European fans. There have been fewer Europeans than expected in Russia.

Qatari organizers have had 180 staff members in Russia observing how to run a World Cup.

Visitors to Russia applied for a laminated fan ID photo card to bypass entry visa rules. The process also allowed Russian authorities to screen people considered to be a security threat and monitor who entered stadiums.

“We think it worked well,” Al Khater said.