Hey, big spenders: Qatar woos the rich
High-end hotels and expensive match-day packages ensure forthcoming World Cup will certainly be like no other
With deluxe match packages selling for thousands of dollars and five-star hotels doing a brisk trade, a sheen of glamor coats Qatar's World Cup despite soccer's working-class roots.
A penchant for luxury in the energy-rich Gulf state, which has one of the world's highest GDPs per head, has rubbed off on an unusually high-end edition of a tournament for the masses.
If you're able to spring $4,950 for a VIP ticket to a group game, you can enjoy drinks, a six-course meal and entertainment at a lounge overlooking the halfway line at Lusail Stadium, north of Doha.
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.
Things are a little different for ordinary fans.
Cheaper options include a steel bed in a shared room in the semi-desert near the capital at $84 a night, or accommodation on docked cruise ships from $179 to $800.
Stadium crowds will include Qatar's migrant laborers, who were offered some tickets at 40 riyals ($11) to watch a sport whose players and core supporters are traditionally blue-collar.
According to Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, the onus on "premium "experiences has left some fans cold.
"It's clear that there's a focus on a type of premium tourism, but the vast majority that go to a World Cup are middle-class," Evain told AFP.
"They're not the sort of people who can afford to stay on a cruise liner at $5,000 a week."
