The preliminary round of the World Cup is overshadowed by FIFA’s “One Love” ban and the strange crowds fleeing the stadiums. The president of the world association, Gianni Infantino, sees things uncritically as usual and raves in the highest tones.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has praised the progress of the World Cup in Qatar so far. “I saw all the games and to put it simply and clearly, this was the best group stage of a World Cup ever,” said the Swiss in a video distributed by the world football association. “The games in the beautiful stadiums were very, very high quality, that was already clear. And the crowds at the games were incredible too.” Infantino spoke of an average audience of over 51,000.
Spectator interest is a hot topic during the finals. It is true that fans of the Latin American and Arab teams in particular ensured a rousing World Cup atmosphere in the arenas. However, many seats in the stadiums often remained empty until shortly before kick-off. When the hosts lost their opening match against Ecuador, numerous spectators had already left the stadium in the second half. It wasn’t the only game with spectators fleeing early. European fans – including those from Germany – were clearly outnumbered in Qatar.
According to the 52-year-old Swiss, “more than two billion viewers” have already watched the World Cup games on TV. In Germany, the odds had dropped significantly compared to previous tournaments. “It’s really incredible: two and a half million people on the streets of Doha and several hundred thousand every day in the stadiums all celebrating, cheering, cheering for their teams, fantastic atmosphere, great goals and unbelievable excitement,” said Infantino.
The World Cup was overshadowed by dead guest workers and numerous human rights violations. In the tournament, the ban on the “One Love” bandage as a gesture of tolerance – including for LGBTQI – caused a lot of excitement. FIFA had penalized the sign. Large associations like the DFB then buckled.