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.

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...

Here are some of the cultural conventions football fans should know when visiting the emirate, which, like other Arab nations, prides itself on its hospitality.

Passion for football in the Middle East runs deep, but a week before the start of the World Cup, the fervor is not universal as high costs are keeping many MENA fans away.

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

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.

The Arabian Gulf countries have hosted some of the biggest sporting events during the past decade. The World Cup is set to cement the region's position as sporting hub.

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...

Doha, Qatar— Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has promised a "unique travel experience" for football fans of the World Cup in the country with preparations for the global event having already been completed. Mohammed Faleh Al Hajri, in charge of managing Civil Aviation Authority, said preparations for the FIFA World Cup...

Dubai, UAE— Dubai has begun to give out multiple-entry tourist visa for "Hayya cardholders" traveling to Doha for the World Cup this month. In this regard, Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA)  issued the first 90-day multiple-entry tourist visa to Mohammed Jalal, a Jordanian football fan. This...

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...

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...

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...

China in June 2019 won the bid to host the event but pulled out in May because of its "zero-Covid" policy, leaving the AFC scrambling to find a new host for its flagship men's 24-team football tournament. The tournament had been due to be held in 10 Chinese cities from...

With the World Cup a few weeks away, and a million fans expected to descend on Doha, Qatari landlords are pushing out a growing number of mostly foreign tenants to rent out their apartments to football fans. Most fans will be staying in hotels, apartments, cruise ships and desert camps.

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...

Khalil al-Balushi, one of Qatar's top football commentators, brings much-needed life to Qatar's subdued football culture.

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.

While Qatar feverishly seeks to complete work on hotels and apartments for the World Cup fans, its squad for the games trained on home territory for the first time in four months in a Doha stadium. The team had been kept away from the glare of media in Spain and...

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...

Applauding Qatar's rights record, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the gas-rich country has made progress on "questions that have long been debated, for example on the situation of workers. He was speaking to reporters after talks with the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Qatar already has hosted major competitions including the 2021 Arab Cup, a dress rehearsal for this year's tournament, said organizing committee secretary-general Hassan al-Thawadi.

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.

Seeking to placate the concerns raised by rights groups, the ruler of Qatar has said that all fans will be welcomed to this year's World Cup "without discrimination". Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said that Qatar's people would be "opening our door for all."

A strong performance is expected this winter when neighboring Qatar hosts football's World Cup. Hotel occupancy was up more than 40 percent in Covid-hit 2021, UAE prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said after a cabinet meeting.

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...

The sudden move to bring forward Qatar's match against Ecuador -- to make it the opening match – may put pressure on its public relations team, add to the costs and confuse fans.

Football's top officials universally approved the decision, FIFA said in a statement while Qatar said it would give unspecified help to fans affected by the change. On the old schedule, Qatar against Ecuador was to be the official inauguration match on November 21 but Senegal against Netherlands would be the...

Qatar announced Monday that the club champions of Saudi Arabia and Egypt will inaugurate the Lusail stadium to be used for the World Cup final on September 9.

Building work in Qatar's capital Doha, host of the 2022 World Cup, will be completed "well before the tournament", the event's CEO promised qualifying teams on Monday.

World Cup host Qatar doesn't just have its sights set on football -- it also hopes to harness its people's gaming skills as it launches into the burgeoning eSports sector.

The WHO voiced confidence Tuesday that hosts Qatar would successfully manage the Covid-19 risks at the 2022 football World Cup.

Costs soar for the Qatari capital's limited accommodation. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said there were five million requests for tickets for the final at the 80,000-seat Lusail stadium, indicating feverish demand for the first World Cup in the Middle East.

Israeli citizens will be allowed to travel to Qatar to watch football's 2022 World Cup, despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the government said. World football's governing body "FIFA has confirmed that Israeli citizens will be able to enter Qatar during the World Cup and watch...

Prosecutors in Algeria on Thursday said ex-football star Rabah Madjer should be jailed for 18 months, during his ongoing trial for fraud.

Saudi Arabia's coach Herve Renard has signed a new five-year deal after guiding the team to this year's World Cup in Qatar, football officials announced on Friday.

US basketball star Chris Paul and American football players Larry Fitzgerald and Kelvin Beachum have invested in Indian Premier League cricket side the Rajasthan Royals, the franchise said Sunday.

The Bahrain-based firm looking to spend around €1 billion.

Iran is hoping to host visitors flocking to nearby Qatar for the 2022 World Cup finals, with officials boosting flights and readying hotels for an expected influx of football fans.

He also called out users who are highly followed but rarely post.

Several measures will be implemented at this year’s FIFA World Cup Qatar in a bid to promote healthy lifestyles. Senior leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), and FIFA met together for the first Steering Committee meeting of the "Healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022...

Having fought to win the respect of Iran's football public, Dragan Skocic now has a World Cup showdown with England and a politically charged clash with the United States to cement his international standing.

Qatar's top World Cup organizer has hit back at Louis van Gaal for criticizing the decision to hold the event in the Gulf state, saying the Netherlands coach has failed to understand the Arab world's passion for football. Many journalists and officials will be in the state on April 1...

Iraq, which has qualified World Cup finals only once, in 1986, was working for months to welcome international matches and to get the FIFA ban lifted.

The Egyptian football club Ghazl El Mahalla has put off its listing on the stock exchange to April. The listing was originally to happen in February.

Chelsea was handed the prestigious trophy by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.