From facilitating access for people with limited mobility, through audio descriptions of matches, to relaxation spaces for autistic people - through the "sensory rooms" available in three stadiums and some fan areas - the Qatar World Cup is trying to be unique in allowing a new audience the opportunity to enjoy the football feast.

According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which begins on the 20th of this month, "will be the best ever, and the most secure for easy access."

What is new in this version of the World Cup in football is the creation of rooms dedicated to the comfort of people with autism, or those who suffer from sensory processing disorders.

These "sensory rooms" will be available in 3 stadiums;

They are: (Al-Bayt, Lusail, and Education City), while 6 other similar rooms will be located in close proximity to the main fan areas and Education City Stadium.

pressure atmosphere

Ticket holders for people with special needs and their escorts - each of whom is entitled to one escort with a free ticket - can follow the match from the stadium stand like all spectators, but if "the atmosphere becomes a bit stressful, (these rooms) provide a quiet and safe environment, they can withdraw to it to continue enjoying the match." This is what FIFA official Hala Osta explains about the ease of access.

These rooms, which can accommodate about 10 people each, are equipped with large windows that allow those inside to continue watching the match in a noise-free environment.

And in each of these rooms, there are colorful mattresses to sit on, sensory mats to touch, projectors, LED lights and bright fiber optics, which are tools that children and young people can distract themselves with if they are stressed by the stressful atmosphere in the stadiums.

However, this does not mean at all that these spectators will remain locked in these rooms for the duration of the match.

Alison Sarraf, who participated in this project in her store that she founded in Doha, which specializes in developing and educating the skills of autistic children, says that these rooms "are not meant to be a separation between them and us. Rather, their goal is to get them used to playgrounds little by little."

This category of spectators has many tools to help them relax if they decide to watch matches exclusively from the stands.

These include noise-reducing headphones, weighted blankets, and stress-relieving toys.

A first of its kind in the World Cup

In fact, this experience is not new, as the Watford stadium in England has been equipped since December 2016 with a sensory room.

"We've seen clubs do that, but it's a precedent of its kind in the World Cup," said Mark Dyer, the official in the Qatar Organizing Committee for the World Cup.

According to his colleague in the "Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy" Samantha Sivah, the idea of ​​​​creating these rooms was raised during meetings held since 2016 on the issue of facilitating access for people with special needs to the World Cup activities.

These rooms were tested for the first time during the past two years, when Qatar hosted the Club World Cup and the Arab Cup, which were an experiment for the World Cup.

A few days before the start of the World Cup, Dyer confirmed that these rooms are "99% booked".

Presence of people with visual problems

The other novelty in the Qatari version of the World Cup is a free application that will allow people with visual problems to follow the facts of all matches, in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies, through an audio description in Arabic and English.

This feature is not new in itself, as it has been available since the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, but it was available for certain matches, and in the language of the host country more than in English.

Likewise, the Qatar World Cup organizers promise a “fully accessible path” for fans with limited mobility, starting from their places of residence, all the way to stadiums and fan areas, whether they travel by public transport or by car.