Qatar have made unwanted history as the first World Cup hosts to lose the opening match, but that wasn't the only great ignominy as thousands of fans abandoned the game at half-time. 7NEWS
Qatar’s Bedouin roots, embodied in a tent-shaped stadium, were on display as the country’s emir opened the World Cup at a ceremony during which he kissed his father’s hand and welcomed the world to football’s biggest event, the first time it has been staged in the Middle East.
Tamim waved to the crowd and leaned down to kiss the hand of his father, former ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who abdicated in 2013, making way for his son. “When you call here, we welcome you into our home,” Al Muftah said, referencing the “bayt al sha’ar” or tent that nomadic bedouins of the Arabian peninsula once used for shelter, which inspired the stadium design.
The opening of the tournament was the culmination of 12 years of preparations that have transformed Qatar and have also exposed it to a barrage of criticism including over human rights.
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