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This may sound to you: in a corner of an almost empty Khalifa Stadium, a hundred Ethiopian fans wave the country's flags and, a little below, a score of compatriots answer them with the colors of their region, Oromía, where they carry years claiming more money, more autonomy and even independence. "What laziness!" They will think, "another territorial tension." But no, it's not about that. Goodness.
In the first three days, Ethiopian supporters, with their confrontation of hymns, chants and even dances, have saved the Doha World Cup from the most absolute silence, although shame cannot be hidden: here athletics does not interest anyone. The championship is organized in this corner of the Arabian desert due to corruption within the International Federation (IAAF) and the ambition of the wealthy Government of Qatar to buy all the affordable paintings, all the affordable skyscrapers, all the affordable sports. But that's it. Whoever wins or who loses is inconsequential.
- «Do you come from Ethiopia or do you live here?», And, among the group, an amateur looks and responds with a grimace of misunderstanding.
- «Ethiopia, Ethiopia», he replies, and the interaction is no more.
On the air conditioning guns that keep the stadium at about 22 or 23 degrees, a dozen security guards surround Ethiopian fans and a volunteer ensures that they are part of the army of construction workers who are building buildings in Doha day and night, day and night, day and night. "They have arrived by buses, they have been invited to come to the World Cup," he says.
And so it must be because, beyond the records located in outdoor tents with maximum cooling, the entrance controls are really minimal - a few gentlemen in plastic chairs - and without tickets you can pass perfectly. In fact, although they cost 30 euros - on the Internet, because there are no open ticket offices in the stadium - only 50,000 have been sold between all the sessions of the championship. We are talking about a stadium with a capacity for 45,000 spectators, so the account is easy: 450,000 people can go to the 10 scheduled sessions, so those 50,000 tickets sold are just over 10% . On Saturday, in the final of the 100 meters, the great media moment of the championship that led to the hiring of a very expensive videomapping for the presentation of the athletes, there were only about 8,000 or 9,000 people and these, in addition, being Sunday workday, fled while Christian Coleman celebrated his victory.
At all times, large canvases cover the second and third amphitheater of the enclosure and, in the first, the gaps are tricked with the Ethiopian gamers, the members of the different delegations (trainers, doctors, athletes who have already competed ...) and, at most, a few European workers residing in Qatar: professors from private schools such as the SEK, staff of the rich Aspetar Hospital or pilots of Qatar Airways . "Do you fancy a coffee?", Often ask employees, unoccupied, of the stalls inside the stadium, which also offer snacks at 10 euros.
Applause request
"The feeling is a bit weird, there is very little atmosphere," said Eusebio Cáceres after a final length that nobody attended. In order for someone to applaud in the competitions at the stadium, the screens must claim it - «Clap» -. If not, silence. The scenario is sad, although worse are the extreme early morning races on the promenade, the Corniche, where there is never a soul.
After all, the country does not give for more. As demonstrated by the heat and humidity that hit the women's marathon on Friday, the desert is no place to live no matter how much oil and gas exports have earned all the money in the world. Here are some 313,000 Qataris with privileges - employment in government companies, excellent salaries and zero taxes - a few Europeans and the two million workers , mostly Indians, Nepalese or Bangladeshis, among cranes.
The city, in an exaggerated expansion, is a concatenation of large highways without sidewalks, open fields of sand and urbanizations with houses and cars. Many, many cars. Walking is impossible because of the heat and the absence of sidewalks, so all the premises go by car. On weekdays, when the minibuses appear that take workers from their austere floors outside the center's works, traffic jams are insufferable and there is no way around them. Under the sand they are building a subway and there are already huge stops next to the Khalifa Stadium, but the lines still do not work . They will do it in the great moment of Qatar: the World Cup, for which there are three years left (it will be in 2022).
- "Who do you like best, Diego Costa or Morata?" Asks one of the people in charge of the Holiday Villa hotel, one of the officers, with his white robe - the thawb - and his headscarf - the ghutra -.
- ...
- «I think he has to play Alcacer, that boy has a goal».
Football does matter, and 2022 is the year the country has set out to astonish the world. Everything must be finished by then and even, they say, Islamic law, Sharia, will relax. There will be a blind eye - homosexual or extramarital relations are severely punished - there will be alcohol - right now only the Heineken is located in five-star hotels at 12 euros - and possibly some openness. The current rules, which recommend tourists not to go alone, not to teach shoulders and knees and not talk to strangers, will remain in parentheses for a few weeks. Russian or English fans may be outdated and, in addition, they will not be too expensive.
It is almost impossible to eat for less than 25 or 30 euros, but the rest of the expenses are affordable : there is direct flight to almost everyone, one night in a five-star hotel leaves at about 70 euros and, by taxi, a journey of 10 kilometers to the stadium does not exceed four. With a more tolerable heat - it will be between November and December -, the World Cup could be saved from the embarrassment from which the Athletics World Cup can no longer depart. Like almost everything, sport, with its emotion and its magnitude, can also be bought.
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