It makes it a dominant part of the visual landscape on the way to the World Cup media center, where every pre-match press conference will be held during the tournament. He’s not the only one. Luis Suarez, Luka Modric, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane are among 13 players also ‘wrapped’ around buildings. One from each competing nation should follow between now and November 20 if image rights approval can be secured. The World Cup and its stars are paraded like never before by the host country. The players are depicted throughout, as is the tournament slogan, “Now is everything.” But behind the razzmatazz, how prepared is this tiny nation for an influx of a million fans? And what will the experience be like for backers? Captain Harry Kane is England’s leading man ahead of this winter’s World Cup in Qatar England fans heading to Qatar are set for a different experience in their lives at home Wander It’s World Cup fever from the moment you board a Qatar Airways plane. Robert Lewandowski and Neymar appear in the security video on board. The cushions read: “Football is a passion”. Hamad International Airport is well-functioning, with a metro station at Terminal 2 connecting the network’s red line to central Doha. The Metro has stops within a 10-minute walk of five of the eight stadiums, including the Khalifa International, where England kick off with Iran, and the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, where Wales play all three of their group matches. But be careful jumping on the wrong bandwagon: some are just for family and women. For the first time, any fan with a match ticket can travel for free on the host nation’s metro by waving the all-important Hayya Card app — which must be secure to gain visa access to the country and to matches. The Uber network is effective, although the offering will be rigorously tested. In an effort to divert traffic from the often blocked roads, Qatar has designated the month of the tournament as a school holiday. Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions begin their campaign against Iran on November 21 Where should I stay? It is a chaotic last-minute scramble to make rooms available and this is a source of real concern for the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA). The main hotels in Doha have taken 80% of their rooms from FIFA, which markets them. But several hoteliers say that when they get the unsold back – at the end of the month – their priority will be their clients in the oil and gas industry, who will put their workers on rigs. Many of the cheapest £70-a-night villas and apartments have gone and although 20,000 more rooms are expected to become available in the coming weeks, there is a big rush to get them done in time. There has been huge demand for November 24 and 25, the opening days of the tournament, so the FSA says anyone still wanting to book for the full two weeks should consider splitting bookings by moving from site to site during duration of the tournament. This can help keep costs down. Qatar has just announced that locals will be allowed to let their own villas to international fans. There is very little under £200 a night on Airbnb. There are 20 properties on booking.com for the first three nights of the tournament. Many different contractors build the facilities. This seems to contribute to the challenges of getting a clear picture of what will be ready and when. Qatar says there will be 100,000 rooms available each night. Life on stage A tented village, ‘Al Khor Camp’, which is one of the official accommodation options, was still under construction when Sportsmail visited 10 days ago and is being built in the desert, on a dead-end road, 40 minutes north by car from central Doha. We see square canvas houses that campers would go to, instead of Glastonbury-style tents. Security guards it heavily, but we’re told there will be beds in the tents, a shared pool, gym, tennis courts and air conditioning. Small wooden food kiosks have already been built. Much of the area that will be used for the World Cup in Qatar is still under construction Someone will sell Egyptian and Lebanese “kosari and falafel”. Another is the ‘Blue Mountain Cafe’. Qatar says it will set up 1,000 Bedouin-style tents. The cheapest available at Al Khor is the ‘Deluxe King Tent for Two’, which is spacious with wardrobes and a flat-screen TV, but costs £365 a night. Fans will have to make their own entertainment up there and it won’t involve alcohol, although the complex is built on Al Farkiah Beach. It is just a few miles from the Al Bayt Stadium, where England play the USA. There will also be a Caravan City, which will be run by a company called Asco Trading. …Or cabin fever The tents certainly look much more attractive than the “cabins” offered by the World Cup organizers. Artist’s impressions show communal areas, but when Sportsmail visits the site – again, still under construction – we find row upon row of lifeless metal buildings in shades of yellow, pink and turquoise on a desert site in Ras Bu Fontas within the Free Zone off the airport road. Soulless metal buildings are advertised as cabins for fans to stay in the country A hand-painted sign suggests it will be called ‘The Al Wakra Camp’, but it looks more like a PoW camp with huge numbers of 10-cabin squares arranged in rows stretching for a quarter of a mile. Artist’s impressions show topiary arches at the entrance to the runways between each row, but this place, built near the main Hamad International Airport, looks like a place to escape. The cabins we saw were still shells, with a bedroom and shower. The starting price of 740 Qatari Riyals (£176) seems a lot for these rudimentary huts. It is not clear, either from online images or from our research, if the toilets are shared. It is thought that 3,500 more of these may come online through the official Qatar Residency Service. Life in the ocean? Two cruise ships will arrive to accommodate fans in Doha port. The 1,900-cabin MSC World Europa cruise ship is set to depart France in October and join MSC Poesia next month. Between them, they will provide 3,898 cabins, 45 bars and 10 dining rooms. They are not cheap. Minimum price £530 per night. But they throw in a buffet breakfast. Plans are believed to be in place to secure a third cruise ship. The boat is available, but there have been problems with the logistics of mooring it, which we hope will be resolved. Many fans have decided to base themselves in Dubai. The Argentina fans – always the life and soul – will arrive from South America on their own cruise ship. The build continues with the start of the tournament now just two months away On the waterfront The best of Doha for fans is the beautiful four-mile long promenade, or Corniche, on the edges of the Arabian Sea, which clearly ranks as a major gathering place. It has been widened and landscaped, with a turquoise bike lane. The race to get things ready is last minute here too. It’s the Qatar way. Workers were putting tires on sections of brown, melted grass when we visited. They also worked hard to complete the work of laying cobblestones, installing lights on them and completing the underground corridors that connect the corridor to the historic Doha Souk, with its narrow pedestrian streets, market and restaurants. Temporary seats were also set up in the Souk. Here it is also expected that many Argentinians, Spaniards, Australians, Englishmen and Welshmen can mix, eat and digest football. Excellent Qatari pancakes with cheese and honey usually sell for £1.50 and Majboos (chicken curry and rice) for £5. Great, cheap local delicacies, but the Souk is very small. It will be an extreme squeeze. Simaisma will serve as a base camp for Team Mexico during the month-long tournament Doha Beach, which is four miles long, is considered one of the main attractions Glastonbury-on-Sea Doha’s problem is that there isn’t much civilization—or indeed much—in this largely barren lunar landscape. So they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at him and borrow a lot from Glastonbury. They’ve enlisted British festival makers Arcadia, who are sending the 50-tonne fire-breathing spider made from a decommissioned crane to Bristol’s Avonmouth Docks, which has wowed Glastonbury festival-goers for a decade, and is back in Somerset this summer . There will be live performances and DJs. But, as with much of the tournament scene, there are still very few details. No one has announced how long or what time of day the Glasto event will be held. While parts of the country are impressive, others currently lack culture and character But a well-placed source suggests this may be the only public area, apart from the stadiums and fan zone, where alcohol will be available — and that it may be licensed to do so between 10am and 5am . This is unconfirmed. But this experience, like many others, may not come cheap. It is believed to cost £75 a day to enter. Just eight weeks out, the price has not been revealed. The big FIFA party Lack of space means they are creating a large Fan Zone — with a capacity of 40,000 — at Al Bidda Park, near the Corniche. This is the place to be if you want to enjoy a drink and watch a game on the big screens, as long as you have a taste of Budweiser, the ubiquitous official beer partner. They will be selling it from 6:30pm to 1am there. It’s not great if you want to watch one of the 1pm and 4pm daily matches with a beer in hand, but FIFA has taken the view…
