Qatar 'hiring' fans in 'bizarre' World Cup ploy

2 years ago 81

Qatar has been accused of paying hundreds of radical to airs arsenic squad supporters successful a bid to marque the World Cup look amended supported.

In the leadup to the flagship tournament, the country's archetypal authoritative assemblage level connected TikTok, Qatar Living, has been sharing videos of ample crowds gathering successful the streets to enactment their location nation.

However, the footage is drafting disapproval arsenic the legitimacy of the fans is questioned.

It is unclear whether the supporters are migrant workers who unrecorded successful Qatar and person started the enactment a small early, oregon whether the crowds person been staged by authorities to marque the tourney look much popular.

One station shows a parade of expected Brazil supporters waving flags on the Doha Corniche. Another presents England fans chanting and playing the drums arsenic they march done the streets holding a banner that says: "It's coming home."

Similar videos besides amusement fans from Portugal, Argentina, Ghana, Cameroon and Tunisia.

With the parades occurring much than a week earlier the World Cup kicks disconnected and droves of viewers preparing to boycott the event, immoderate societal media users person accused Qatar of orchestrating the crowds utilizing paid actors.

Others claimed to person spotted the aforesaid radical successful abstracted videos - showing their enactment for antithetic nations.

Notably, determination person besides been nary pistillate supporters contiguous successful the crowds.

With Qatar hopeless to contiguous a affirmative representation of itself during the tournament, protagonist groups person slammed the selling strategy, dubbed rent-a-crowd, arsenic a mode of sportswashing the nation's appalling quality rights record.

This is not the archetypal clip Qatar has been accused of hiring paid actors to beforehand a sports event.

In 2014, the state was accused of hiring migrant workers arsenic fans to marque mostly bare arenas astatine the Qatar Open look full.

French volleyball players participating successful the tournament, Edouard Rowlandson and Youssef Krou, recounted playing a lucifer arsenic workers arrived to capable seats, making the arena look astir full.

Rowlandson described the country arsenic "bizarre" but admitted the concern was amended than "playing successful beforehand of nobody".

A survey of Qatar residents subsequently suggested that paid actors could beryllium putting Qataris disconnected watching sports.

The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics said two-thirds of Qataris listed "the dispersed of paid fans" arsenic a important origin successful not watching shot matches.

Up to 1600 fans person already been recruited for all-expense-paid trips to Qatar to sing successful the opening ceremonial and enactment for astatine slightest 2 weeks promoting affirmative societal media contented astir the tourney and the big nation.

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