Washington, US— US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going to arrive in Doha on Monday to support Team USA in its first 2022 FIFA World Cup match and to attend the US-Qatar joint Strategic Dialogue, a State Department statement said. Blinken will recognize Doha’s important contribution to international sports...

Asian champions Qatar became the first home nation to lose their opening World Cup match as Ecuador cruised to a 2-0 victory on Sunday, with veteran forward Enner Valencia scoring twice.

“Qatar has done everything in the best way, I don't understand some critics, because we didn't find these kind of criticism when we have other games. Do you believe that human rights and the workers rights were better defended there. I don't believe. So, try not be hypocritical,” he adds.

Fireworks, cultural performances add to the grand opening ceremony attended by regional leaders, heads of delegations and sports panels and federations, diplomats and fans.

World Cup organisers hope the start of the football will quell the controversies that have overshadowed preparations for the tournament ever since Qatar was named as host nation in a shock FIFA vote in 2010.

Brazil, knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals in the 2018 edition in Russia, open their campaign against Serbia next Thursday.

Regarding the rights of workers, it is unfair that the world does not see the great progress and clear development that Qatar, which has prepared optimally for the global event, has achieved in this field. It is true that it took time, just as it happened in Europe earlier, he...

"All in all this World Cup will generate for FIFA around $600-$700 million more than the last World Cup," he said ahead of the Sunday's opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.

DOHA, QATAR - FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Saturday that World Cup fans can survive for three hours a day without beer after sales were banned around stadiums. "I think personally if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive," he told his opening press...

Doha, Qatar— FIFA president Gianni Infantino hit back at criticism of Qatar's human rights record on Saturday, blasting the "hypocrisy" of Western critics on the eve of the World Cup kick-off. Infantino was speaking at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha. "This moral lesson-giving -- one-sided --...

"We seek to boost long-term partnerships between local and foreign investors to enhance added values and the knowledge transfer, to create more promising opportunities that require technical skills to boost the economic diversification objectives in the country," adds Al Sayed, who is also Chairman of the Qatar Free Zones Authority.

Few countries could have afforded the $200 billion-plus bill that the tiny but super-wealthy emirate has paid for its spectacular transformation over the past 12 years.

As the world gears up for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the positive ripple effect is being felt in the business fraternity across the Gulf region, especially in the UAE.

Saudi officials are putting on 240 weekly flights linking the kingdom to Qatar, up from six normally, and easing overland travel during the tournament, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb told AFP last month.

"I think we must not politicize sport," said Macron, whose national team is defending the title they won in Russia in 2018. "These questions must be addressed when hosting the event is decided," he told reporters in Bangkok, where he is attending a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

In an interview with AFP, Qatar's Labor Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri said "racism" was behind the onslaught on his country's record. "They don't want to allow a small country, an Arab country, an Islamic country, to organize the World Cup," he said.

"You guys are used to bending your knees in the games. Some people agree, some people don’t agree with that. And Iran is exactly the same," coach Coach Carlos Queiroz said, according to a video of the press conference. "It is out of question to think that the Iran national...

Doha, Qatar—The 22-deck cruise ship MSC World Europa (floating hotel) has docked at Doha Port for FIFA World Cup fans to relish the experience of a stay in the ship. The cruise ship can accommodate 6,700 World Cup fans. It designed with the highest standards of security and safety. MSC...

The countdown to the World Cup in Qatar has begun as the first such tournament held on the Arab soil will kick off on Sunday when the host country face Ecuador. The event marks the culmination of Qatar's campaign first to host the tournament and then to build infrastructure worth...

Even as serious rights violations -- including corruption, human trafficking, racism and discrimination -- persist across Europe and US, Western world opts to focus on Qatar.

Less than ten days before they play their first game in the tournament, Qatar has picked up a 26-man squad for the World Cup exclusively made up of home-based players. The hosts will play their first game against Ecuador in the opening match on November 20.

An unknown number of players were on a Qatar Airways jet from New York that was among the first flights to use a new part of Hamad international airport that opened Thursday, an AFP photographer at the airport said. Many in the 26-man squad, including captain Christian Pulisic, are based...

After the multi-billion dollar overhaul, Hamad International Airport will take its capacity from 40 million passengers a year to 58 million, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker told a news conference.

A deal was brokered between Qatar and Israel, who do not have diplomatic relations, so that flights are "temporarily operated" during the World Cup, said a statement from world football's governing body. The tournament starts November 20.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia---Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has announced it will allocate 780 scheduled, additional and shuttle flights connecting Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam to Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airport, with a combined total of 254,000 seats for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matches beginning November 20. "Football-loving guests...

A short drive north, sparks from drills and grinders light up a Doha golf club, where workers are constructing a stage that will hold the many concerts planned for the 29-day tournament. As the night progresses, cranes are still moving and workers are finishing buildings in Lusail, close to the...

The interior ministry of Qatar said officers launched an operation "acting on a piece of information about a website that promotes the sale of cups that mimic the true shape of the World Cup."

Human rights groups accuse Qatar of under-reporting deaths. The government strongly disputes reports that thousands have died on construction site accidents or from heat-related illnesses in the country's searing summer temperatures.

In order to help football fans who lose their passport or get arrested, Qatar has opened a World Cup consular facility, a first of its kind at a major sporting event. More than 40 countries will have offices in the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center alongside the police, interior ministry...

Qatar is currently more like a workshop of preparation and equipping, in which Qataris and residents have engaged. Brotherly and friendly countries have put their capabilities at our disposal. These are originally part of the goals of such events that encourage cooperation, fraternity and exchange of experiences, he adds.

Crowds are already growing as a World Cup buzz mounts. Fan zone attractions and temporary stores are being set up around Nama's camel enclosure and the hundreds of small stores selling incense, spices, carpets, gold and even falcons and other birds and animals. Press reports said stores will be allowed...

Doha, Qatar— Qatar Tourism has thrown open more than 20 hotels, resorts and new tourist destinations in the country ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The projects and tourist attractions will be ready to receive football fans from next month. In a statement on Sunday, Qatar Tourism stated...

There is a need for concerted efforts by citizens and residents to make this global event a success, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim said in an interview to a local Qatari newspaper, adding that the World Cup Qatar 2022 will leave a unique imprint in the history of the FIFA World...

Five women are suing Qatar Airways and the state-run Qatar Civil Aviation Authority after they were removed from flights for non-consensual gynecological examinations in October 2020.

The palm tree-styled street lamps and neon office blocks that line the highway from the expanded international airport to central Doha will be an instant sign to the million-plus incoming fans that the first World Cup in an Arab nation is going to be a glitzy affair. But with Qatar's...

Applauding Qatar's "groundbreaking reforms" that are "changing the lives of thousands of workers for the better," FIFA President Gianni Infantino has dispelled doubts about Qatar's rights record ahead of the World Cup. The footballing body said it is negotiating measures to help migrant workers on the Gulf state's construction sites.

More than one million football fans are expected to descend on the capital Doha during the November-December tournament, putting a strain on the tiny Gulf nation. Landlords who have spotted an opening to increase rents, with some kicking out tenants on very short notices.

All travelers to Qatar will need the pass to enter from November 1, whether they intend to watch a game or not. The card acts as a visa, match ticket and transport ticket. Saad Al-Suwaidi, head of the Hayya pass service, said that 1.5m-1.7 million people have so far applied...

Those with bottomless budgets in the resource-rich region have attractive accommodation options too, with one third-party site offering $4,000-a-night hotel rooms and $26,000 for a "head of state" suite -- with a 30-night minimum stay.

From Formula One racing to the football World Cup, the top-notch global sporting events are coming to Middle East, bringing with it billions of dollars in sports tourism.

A flying keffiyah headdress named La'eeb, meaning super skilful player in Arabic, is the official World Cup mascot and is omnipresent on billboards across Qatar and on television.

Young Arab boys and girls from countries such as Lebanon are being flown to Qatar and paid $800 to cheer during the upcoming World Cup, TRENDS Investigation reveals.

As the countdown to the start of the World Cug gets underway, Qatar has accelerated efforts to ready luxury hotels and bargain apartments for a million or more footfall fans. Hundreds of laborers are working on 211 meter high Katara Towers where VIP guests of FIFA will stay during the...

But players and match officials may be forced into a secure "bio-bubble" if Covid-19 cases take off again, with the threat of expulsion from the tournament for those who breach the secure environment, the health ministry said.

Hotels, condominiums, cruise ship cabins, and even desert camps have all stepped up to accommodate the overflow of tourists as the Gulf country is getting ready for the event.

Qatar has dozens of online influencers on topics ranging from "modest" but expensive fashion, to the latest sports car being imported into what is now one of the world's wealthiest nations. But Haroon carved out his niche by elucidating Qatar's unknowns to its growing expat community and now the hordes...

Hotels in Dubai are reporting an increase in room bookings ahead of the Qatar World Cup 2022, with many expecting to be fully booked during the international football event.

All their games since June 2 have been behind closed doors and the Qatar Football Association has even kept sponsors away from training camps in Spain and Austria as they prepare players for a baptism of fire -- a World Cup debut on home territory -- in 60 days.

The FIFA World Cup, which is likely to boost tourism across GCC, is all set to increase revenues for Gulf airlines, hotel and restaurant industries and domestic transportation.

Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia are in talks to jointly host the 2030 World Cup football tournament, an Egyptian official said Friday in televised remarks. "The three countries are working flat out" and "the application to organise (the 2030 World Cup) is being studied", sports ministry spokesman Mohammed Fawzi told...