Established 1961 Sport

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 Qatar defies virus, presses on with major sport events

DOHA: Qatar has defied soaring coronavirus num- izers of the Tokyo Olympics will have to confront bers to stage high-profile sporting events, serving this summer. as a test bed ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and the Bayern star Thomas Mueller tested positive 2022 World Cup, but also suffering high-profile set- ahead of February’s Club World Cup final in Doha, backs. Doha, among the most controversial World while American tennis player Denis Kudla learnt he Cup hosts of the modern era, has bucked the trend was positive mid-game while qualifying for the of more established sporting nations which have Australian Open. cancelled or postponed a slew of elite events. Another case was detected in the beach volley- Instead it has deployed multi-billion dollar ven- ball “bubble”, while there were prominent biosecu- ues, luxury hotels-turned-quarantine centers and rity breaches including VVIPs sitting in player box- formidable virus testing system to host football, es at the Qatar Open and players greeting non- golf, tennis, motorcycling, judo and beach volleyball bubble guests at the Club Cup. A Qatari official said events — some with spectators. authorities worked with each events’ organizers to Simon Chadwick, professor of Eurasian Sport at “pick the best (biosecurity) option while keeping EM Lyon University, said full-fledged tournaments track of local transmission rates”. complete with fans were key to Qatar’s strategy to “The Club World Cup model was very success- diversify its economy away from gas and oil ful,” he added, suggesting fans attending did not dependence. “It is reckless to be staging events increase infections. James Dorsey, author of the during times of rising infection, but... the inconven- Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, said ient truth for Qatar is that the country has rolled the trying different approaches to containment was dice big on sporting events,” he said. “not a bad strategy — because at least you know Since winning the role of World Cup 2022 host what works”. The MotoGP, which resumed in back in 2010, Qatar has been dogged by accusa- Qatar this month after a virus hiatus, offered vac- AL-RAYYAN: In this file photo taken on February 11, 2021 a sanitation worker sprays disinfectants on the goal tions of worker mistreatment, corruptly obtaining cines to everyone in the paddock. Dorsey said an post following the FIFA Club World Cup 3rd place football match between Egypt’s Al-Ahly vs Brazil’s Palmeiras the tournament, and being an unsuitable venue inoculation requirement for 2022 attendees at the Education City Stadium in the Qatari city of Al-Rayyan. — AFP because of the desert nation’s inhospitable climate. “would make sense”. Now it looks certain that coronavirus and efforts to “Verifying vaccines would certainly be possible, “For the 2022 World Cup, strong progress is being vaccine doses have been administered. Organizers suppress the pandemic instead will dominate the Qatar vaccinating (fans) would not necessarily be made regarding vaccination both in Qatar and inter- of the 2022 tournament have so far been spared lead-up. feasible. But it also depends on how travel devel- nationally. This may increase opportunities for inter- the intense coronavirus scrutiny of the Tokyo ops,” he said. As for soccer powerhouses like Brazil national visitors, all being well.” Olympics — due to begin a year late in July ‘COVID-free World Cup’ that traditionally send thousands of fans to World Qatar has suffered a surge of cases and deaths in despite a senior Japanese politician warning they Doha and FIFA have insisted that 2022 will pro- Cups but which has turned into a COVID epicenter recent months, with almost 25 percent of its more could still be cancelled. ceed with fans from across the globe, and a minister and struggled to vaccinate, Dorsey warned “they than 380 fatalities recorded so far in April alone. In “The Olympics are going to be very risky, given last week said Qatar was in talks with vaccine mak- may get penalized”. the past 30 days, more than 25,000 people tested the pandemic is ongoing and cases in many coun- ers to ensure all attendees could be vaccinated, to positive compared to just 7,501 in January, among a tries are rising steeply,” said Michael Head, a global make the World Cup “COVID-free”. Olympics ‘very risky’ population of 2.75 million, although there is no evi- health researcher at the University of Southampton. However, breaches of Qatar’s elaborate and cost- “We can all learn from each other’s experiences,” dence linking sporting events to the surge. “In my view, the Olympics and other mass gather- ly efforts to stage sports have highlighted the risks said Andrew Murray, Chief Medical Officer for the Doha blames new virus variants and social ings that require international travel would be best and vulnerabilities in enforcement, issues the organ- PGA European Tour which visited Qatar in March. gatherings, emphasizing that more than 1.2 million postponed for another year.” — AFP