Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar is preparing to welcome thousands of fans and competitors for the World Athletics Championships starting Friday, an event seen as a staging post towards the 2022 football World Cup. The 10-day event in the capital Doha will be a key test ahead of the football …
Read More »Qatar unveils 2022 World Cup logo round the globe
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar unveiled the logo for the 2022 World Cup which will be hosted by the Gulf emirate by displaying it in public spaces in Doha and cities around the world Tuesday. The design is a stylised Arabic white unisex shawl with maroon patterning displayed in a …
Read More »Ex-UEFA chief Platini arrested in 2022 World Cup probe
Paris, France | AFP | The banned ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini was arrested Tuesday in connection with a criminal investigation into the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The French football legend elected to lead European football’s governing body in 2007 was taken into custody by French anti-corruption police …
Read More »Qatar World Cup to be played with 32 teams: FIFA
Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP | The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played with 32 teams after a proposed expansion of the tournament to 48 sides was scrapped, FIFA announced on Wednesday. World football’s governing body said in a statement that “following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the …
Read More »Crisis, what crisis? Qatari love of luxury going strong
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Abdulla Sager al-Khori has little doubt about the significance of a luxury watch when it comes to fashion — and making a statement — even in the thick of Qatar’s diplomatic crisis. “Because we have the traditional dress the only thing we can use as an …
Read More »Cavani ‘surprised’ at Qatar’s Copa America inclusion
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani admitted Monday that Qatar’s inclusion among teams in this year’s Copa America was a “surprise” but backed the Gulf state’s first ever tournament appearance. The 31-year-old, who plays for Qatari-owned French champions Paris Saint-Germain, said allowing the World Cup 2022 host in to South America’s biggest international …
Read More »England women’s football team to train in Qatar for first time
Doha, Qatar | AFP | England’s women football team will hold a winter training camp in World Cup 2022 host Qatar this month, officials in the Gulf and the English Football Association confirmed on Monday. The team will train at Doha’s Aspire Zone from January 14-22, said officials in Qatar, …
Read More »Djokovic crashes out of Qatar Open
Doha, Qatar | AFP | Novak Djokovic was surprisingly defeated in Doha on Friday, beaten in the Qatar Open semi-final by world number 24, Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 6-7 (8/6), 6-4. The Serb fell to his first defeat of the season in a high-quality contest lasting more than two-and-a-half hours, …
Read More »Djokovic battles through to Qatar semi-finals
Doha, Qatar | AFP | World number one Novak Djokovic won another gruelling battle in Doha on Thursday to continue his unbeaten start to the year and progress to the Qatar Open semi-finals. The Serb came from a set down, just like in his previous match, to beat Georgia’s Nikoloz …
Read More »World Cup host Qatar to introduce 100 percent booze tax
Doha, Qatar | AFP | World Cup 2022 host Qatar is to introduce a 100 percent tax on alcohol from January 1, a government official confirmed on Monday. The “sin” tax is being introduced just weeks after the conservative Muslim Gulf state announced in its annual budget statement that it …
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