• The world’s top footballers turned their attention to one of the most contentious tournaments in history
• The weeklong countdown to the World Cup in Qatar started on Monday
• Domestic leagues were suspended for six weeks after the final weekend of play to accommodate the event, although the teams have little time to prepare

Against Sunday, the host nation will take on Ecuador in the opening match of the first World Cup to be contested in the Arab world.

The World Cup has been moved from its usual spot in the northern hemisphere summer to avoid the blazing heat of the Gulf, necessitating an extraordinary reorganisation of the international football calendar.

Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, three players regarded as the biggest names in the competition, were unharmed in Paris Saint-5-0 Germain’s win over Auxerre in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Mbappe made a grand exit by scoring PSG’s opening goal. He will lead France’s title defence in Qatar.

On Monday, teams must turn in their complete squad lists.

In the final 25-man roster, Iran designated Sardar Azmoun as their star player. Aside from that, Azmoun represents Bayer Leverkusen of Germany.

Bitter disagreement

The conclusion of Qatar’s unprecedented campaign to first win the vote to host the competition and then go on a spending binge of tens of billions of dollars to develop stadiums and infrastructure comes with the game’s opening kickoff on Sunday.

As the countdown to kickoff has only intensified scrutiny of the Gulf state’s treatment of migrant workers, women, and other marginalised communities, FIFA’s calls to “concentrate on the football” have struggled to be heard.

Since Qatar was given the World Cup in 2010, workers from South Asia have been at the centre of a contentious debate regarding fatalities, injuries, and their working conditions.

Amnesty International urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to promise a compensation package for the workers who constructed the tournament’s dazzling venues in an urgent appeal on Friday.

Most of the attacks have been vehemently rejected by Qatar, and local media have criticised the “arrogance” of some Western nations.

Briton Sophia Stone, who resides in Doha, said that the unfavourable coverage was unfair.

She told AFP, “I wouldn’t listen to everything you hear on the news.” “Come to Qatar and have a look for yourself if you’re actually interested in forming an opinion. It’s not at all like that, according to what I’m reading. It is really welcoming and tolerant.”

The nation, which has a population of only three million, is one of the top producers of natural gas worldwide.

Five of the eight sites are served by a driverless metro system that cost $36 billion and cost more than $6.5 billion to build.

According to some estimates, $200 billion has been spent on infrastructure during the last ten years.

More than a million spectators are expected to travel to Qatar, and the organisers have addressed worries about a lack of accommodations by deploying three cruise ships as floating hotels. For the first two weeks of the competition, they are completely booked.

According to the organisers, 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold. Fans have been lining up outside the FIFA booking centre in the hopes that some of the high-demand tickets may become available.

On Monday, Qatar confirmed the detention of three foreign individuals in front of official ticketing facilities in Doha, marking the country’s first World Cup ticket tout arrests. No information about their nationality was provided.

Unease about the tournament being held in a nation with almost little football tradition can be felt throughout Europe.

Philipp Lahm, the captain of the Germany team that won the 2014 World Cup, stated on Sunday that Qatar should never have been permitted to host the World Cup due to violations of human rights.

In a commentary for the daily Die Zeit, Lahm stated that it was a mistake to give the World Cup to Qatar. It is inappropriate there,

According to Lufthansa, the German national team will be transported to their World Cup campaign on a plane with the message “#DiversityWins!”

[embedpost slug=”fifa-world-cup-sergio-busquet-asserts-that-our-strength-is-our-unity”]