davieG Posted 5 June 2012 Posted 5 June 2012 Merc A civil engineer has spoken of the billions of pounds being spent in Qatar as he helps the country prepare for the 2022 World Cup. Graeme Spencer, 54, of Melton, has been recruited by a US company working for the Qatar government to oversee part of the country's spending of $20 billion on a road network to link up football stadia and hotels yet to be built. Mr Spencer, a senior quantity surveyor, said: "The country, which is the world's biggest producer of natural gas, is spending billions over the next 10 or 11 years." Mr Spencer is working on preparations for a six-lane highway linking Dukha – the home of Qatar Petroleum – with the capital, Doha. The freeway will replace the existing road where roundabouts cause frequent traffic snarl-ups. He said at least twice a day the existing road was closed off while one of the world's richest monarchs, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, travelled in a high-speed armed convoy from his palace to his office in the capital. Mr Spencer said: "The Emir's palace is about halfway along the road and there's an armed convoy as he goes back and forth to his office in Doha. "We're not allowed to stack anything more than a metre high alongside the road because of fears of ambush." The £800-£900 million project he is overseeing in temperatures of 50c (122F) will include 17 bridges, two tunnels and a series of underpasses to keep the traffic flowing freely. He added: "A new 100m x 100m bridge has been added to the project after the Emir's wife ordered a walkover plaza to be built over the highway, at a cost of about £20 million." Mr Spencer is in charge of spending large sums of the wealthy country's money and ensuring work meets quality, time and budget targets. He said: "A metro underground system and moving travelator system are also being constructed. It seems to be growing all the time." Mr Spencer will be joined next month by his wife, Jackie, in a new apartment at El Wakrah on the coast. He is also enjoying driving his own car for the first time in the seven months he has been there because of the time taken to acquire his Qatar licence. He added: "Petrol is 12p a litre so it costs about £10 to fill up the Honda CRV I'm leasing. "Back home, I was paying £90 every six days to fill up my Ford Mondeo. "It's unreal and that's why there are so many big cars over here." Mr Spencer, who captains Melton Rugby Football Club's Fourth XV, nicknamed The Nomads, has even found a rugby club to join. He said: "I'm a qualified referee as well and I've been out to have a look at them, but they take it far too seriously. "I also followed the Six Nations rugby and the HeinekenCup on TV, but luckily I didn't see the Tigers' defeat in the championship play-off final."
jonthefox Posted 5 June 2012 Posted 5 June 2012 Sounds impressive, but i think it'll be the worst world cup ever. It will be too hot for most countries to last for 90 minutes for one.
Gold Coast Fox Posted 6 June 2012 Posted 6 June 2012 Maybe he will put a Leicester top in the foundations
Maybes Posted 6 June 2012 Posted 6 June 2012 Still actually can't believe that Qatar are going to host a World Cup. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Rocky Dennis Posted 6 June 2012 Posted 6 June 2012 Isnt homosexuality illegal in Qatar??? Off topic I know but surely a reason for a boycott?
Kitchandro Posted 6 June 2012 Posted 6 June 2012 Isnt homosexuality illegal in Qatar??? Off topic I know but surely a reason for a boycott? We should be boycotting. If we had any principles we'd have pulled out of FIFA by now.
Guest Bilo Posted 6 June 2012 Posted 6 June 2012 Isnt homosexuality illegal in Qatar??? Off topic I know but surely a reason for a boycott? Up to five years imprisonment and lashes if caught, irrespective of gender. Sepp Blatter's response? http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9284186.stm Would honestly love to see the entire stinking edifices that are UEFA and FIFA to come down and be replaced by organisations with morals. I shan't hold my breath.
davieG Posted 18 July 2013 Author Posted 18 July 2013 Sepp Blatter: Still time for 2022 Qatar World Cup winter switch Fifa president Sepp Blatter is determined to switch the 2022 World Cup to the winter because of the intense Qatar summer heat. The head of world football's governing body plans discussions over the change, which would cause major disruption to various domestic leagues, with his executive committee in October. He said: "We still have enough time. Sepp Blatter believes there is still time to switch the 2022 World Cup to winter "The executive committee will certainly follow my proposal. Then we will have dealt with the topic for good." Temperatures can hit 50C in Qatar, with games scheduled to be played in air-conditioned stadiums. But Blatter said: "The Fifa World Cup must be a festival of the people. But for it to be such a festival, you can't play football in the summer. "You can cool down the stadiums but you can't cool down the whole country and you can't simply cool down the ambience of a World Cup. The players must be able to play in the best conditions to play a good World Cup." Speaking via video link, the head of Qatar's organising committee, Hassan Al-Thawadi, told the conference in Austria: "If it's a wish of the football community to have the World Cup in winter, then we are open to that." Blatter said his change of heart had followed medical information about the effects of the heat on players. "There has been a fresh medical investigation into what it would be like to play football there in the summer and we have to take into account the health, not of the spectators, but of the players," he told Sky Germany. Moving the World Cup to the winter would significantly impact on the the European leagues. Many leagues outside Britain have a winter break but they would need a hiatus of at least six weeks to accommodate national teams preparing for, and playing at, the World Cup finals. "We have to have the courage - that is Fifa's executive committee - to play this World Cup in the winter and to start to work out now what impact this will have on the international calendar," Blatter added. "It would only be for one year, afterwards you'd be back to the normal routine. But I will advocate that." Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States to win a ballot of Fifa's 22 executive members for the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile, Blatter said Brazil might have been the wrong choice to host the 2014 World Cup if the tournament is affected by the wave of protests seen at the Confederations Cup last month. Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets expressing their anger over the costs to stage the World Cup and demanding better public services. "If this happens again we have to question whether we made the wrong decision awarding the hosting rights," Blatter said. "We didn't do a political debriefing, but we did emphasise the fact of this social unrest being there for the entire duration of the Confederations Cup. "The government is now aware that next year the World Cup shouldn't be disturbed." He added: "It's not we who have to learn lessons from the protests in Brazil; politics in Brazil have to do that."
Guest Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 What a complete **** that man is. Shouldn't have been awarded the WC if they couldn't host it in the season it usually is. The rest of the club competitions around the world shouldn't have to work around it because they couldn't see what was in front of their faces
MC Prussian Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 Besides, what are they going to do with all that newly-built infrastructure that is mainly intended to be used for the World Cup? I know they've got a population of around two million, but I doubt they'll be able to use or fill all the stadia, metro stations or bridges and the likes on a permanent basis. It's a real joke. Qatar should've never gotten the World Cup hosting rights - but ££££ talks, eh? And now for Blatter to tampering with the domestic leagues and the idea of a potential Winter World Cup - are you mad, bro? Maybe FIFA could've thought about that BEFORE they gave the rights to Qatar... but hey, it's only FIFA.
Super_horns Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 Why didn't FIFA think of this potential issue before voting for Qatar? Clearly thought of the money before common sense.
davieG Posted 18 July 2013 Author Posted 18 July 2013 I doubt it will only affect one season , the season in question will need to start earlier or finish later probably both therefore affecting the seasons before and after.
Charnwood Norris Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 I hope they don't play it in the heat. If they do it'll be a repeat of the 1994 world cup in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena where it was 40c (stupid loaction as they could of played it in a cooler part of the USA). It was a dire 0-0 game as you would expect in such heat. Oh and winter temperatures in Quatar still average 35c.
Manwell Pablo Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 I hope they don't play it in the heat. If they do it'll be a repeat of the 1994 world cup in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena where it was 40c (stupid loaction as they could of played it in a cooler part of the USA). It was a dire 0-0 game as you would expect in such heat. Oh and winter temperatures in Quatar still average 35c. Their gonna air condition the stadiums from what i gather, so I'm assuming they'll be indoor games. It is an absurd idea, having a Christmas world cup, in a scorching country, with a questionable set of laws, including no drinking. I'm with Kitch we should be boycotting, although pulling out of FIFA is obviously a stupid idea as we'd have to pull out of UEFA as well which would mean no European club football which would mess up our league.
Guest MattP Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 Not can anywhere where I can't stagger around drunk. We should boycott it really.
Corky Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 Tell you what Sepp, why don't you move it to a country that can hold it in the summer? Weren't Australia one of the other bidders? If so, give it to them.
davieG Posted 18 July 2013 Author Posted 18 July 2013 I doubt they can move it because of the heat, they knew about it when it was selected and I'm sure Qatar would not be above suing FIFA for every penny they've got.
Guest MattP Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 I doubt they can move it because of the heat, they knew about it when it was selected and I'm sure Qatar would not be above suing FIFA for every penny they've got. There is no way in a millions years Dave they will be able to play in the summer, it's hard enough just walking around in UAE, Bahrain Qatar and that time of year let alone engaging in sports activity.
davieG Posted 18 July 2013 Author Posted 18 July 2013 There is no way in a millions years Dave they will be able to play in the summer, it's hard enough just walking around in UAE, Bahrain Qatar and that time of year let alone engaging in sports activity. Sorry I meant move it to another Country, as for running it in the winter I have no doubt that was the plan from the beginning.
Manwell Pablo Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 There is no way in a millions years Dave they will be able to play in the summer, it's hard enough just walking around in UAE, Bahrain Qatar and that time of year let alone engaging in sports activity. Sorry I meant move it to another Country, as for running it in the winter I have no doubt that was the plan from the beginning. As I say I think the plan is to play the whole thing indoor air conditioned.
davieG Posted 18 July 2013 Author Posted 18 July 2013 As I say I think the plan is to play the whole thing indoor air conditioned. Maybe but Blatter is now talking about situations outside of the actual match so he's upping the ante to justify moving it to the winter which seems to have been the plan all the time which could still mean playing indoors.
Kitchandro Posted 18 July 2013 Posted 18 July 2013 Without being harsh I'll be so happy when Sepp drops dead.
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