November 10, 2024

England fans complain World Cup village is ‘1km of bunting’ with grim breakfasts

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England fans complain about no toilets for a kilometre in Qatar

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England fans have slammed the World Cup fan village and shared photos of their ‘bleak’ £200 a night breakfast.

Some supporters have even said it feels like the tournament is yet to begin.

Three Lions fans who have forked out thousands of pounds to travel to Qatar for the tournament have told of their frustration and how they feel let down by the organisation.

Dubbed ‘Qatar’s global street carnival’ the Corniche in Doha is a waterfront promenade that goes for 7km along Doha Bay.

It is where national holidays and annual celebrations are held in Qatar.

But pictures from World Cup fan zones and a village where supporters are staying have shown a different side to the high-profile tourist hotspot.

Footage taken after Saudi Arabia’s shock win over Argentina yesterday morning shows the deserted fan zones, a far stretch from what fans might have hoped for.

Some fans have complained about how far toilets are away from each other (Picture: Reuters) © Provided by Metro Some fans have complained about how far toilets are away from each other (Picture: Reuters) Bleak photos show the breakfast options at the £200 a night fan village (Picture: Jam Press) © Provided by Metro Bleak photos show the breakfast options at the £200 a night fan village (Picture: Jam Press) The fan zones where supporters can watch matches were empty yesterday (Picture: Reuters) © Provided by Metro The fan zones where supporters can watch matches were empty yesterday (Picture: Reuters) The conditions of the areas close to stadiums near to Qatar has been blasted by Three Lions fans (Picture: EPA) © Provided by Metro The conditions of the areas close to stadiums near to Qatar has been blasted by Three Lions fans (Picture: EPA)

Some supporters have said toilets are located a kilometre apart from each other and many still haven’t been built, with only one screen to watch the games nearby.

Breakfast at their £200-a-night accommodation has also been heavily criticised, with guests blasting organisers.

John, who didn’t want to give his surname, has travelled to Qatar from London to watch the biggest football tournament in the world – but he feels let down by the organisation.

In a video taken from the supposedly bustling fanzone, he says: ‘This is the Corniche, it’s completely dead, there’s a game going on – Argentina versus Saudi Arabia.

‘They’ve piled in a load of these food vans, no one’s buying anything, they’ve got like two or three people per unit.

‘There’s no one around. There’s a screen over here so there’s a little gathering of people.

‘There’s only toilets once every kilometre here and we’ve come here on Tuesday, the third day of the World Cup, and we’ve asked to use the toilet and they won’t let us.

‘They’re still building it, they’re still installing it, f*** knows what’s going on.’

The camera then pans around showing another closed toilet and an attendant who John said ‘wasn’t very helpful’.

The fan zones have been slammed by supporters (Picture: Getty) © Provided by Metro The fan zones have been slammed by supporters (Picture: Getty)

He continued: ‘She said there was a toilet over here and just pointed down this road, who knows whether it’s down here?

‘However, there is after queueing for 20 minutes, a screen to watch the football finally.

‘One screen in a kilometre of all this. A kilometre of bunting and then a screen.’

He told MailOnline: ‘It’s like there’s still a few weeks until the tournament starts.’

Fans have also blasted the bleak breakfast on offer at the fan village, and one guests shared a picture of a box that is allegedly being offered to fans before kick-off.

The box includes a single apple, a sandwich, a doughnut and a dry-looking muffin.

Drinks include a tiny juice carton, water and an instant coffee sachet in a paper cup.

Visiting fans have also complained about the ‘rip off’ accommodation inside £185-a-night metal containers amid piles of rubbish and rubble.

One fan Milad Mahmooditar, 32, from Tehran said: ‘It is ridiculous that I have to pay so much money to stay in this tin can.

‘I am 6ft tall and my bed is too small. There is no room to move and the air-conditioning unit makes so much noise that you cannot sleep.

‘The bathroom isn’t much of a bathroom and you can hardly move without falling over the small table or kicking the bed.

‘I have paid around $200 for each night and I know that for $100 I can get a five-star hotel with full board.

‘This is not the way to treat visitors to any country. We have paid so much money to get here.

‘I’m a businessman but I’m not rich. I’ve spent a lot of money to come here and I expect to be treated much better than this.

‘I am sorry about this and I am angry. Maybe it’s okay for the Qatari people who are rich and live in luxury houses for me, this is not okay.’

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