Luis Castro warns those who want to go to Qatar: ‘A set of modified behaviors are required’ – World Cup 2022

Coach Luis Castro warns that the readiness of eight air-conditioned stadiums located within a 55-kilometre radius, to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar “will require a lot of tolerance, sporting ethics and ‘fair play’ from everyone”.

“One thing this world championship is different from is that it is being held in a very small country, where thousands of people will watch it. I have some expectations to see how this invasion will be coordinated,” the current coach of the Brazilians, Botafogo, who has worked in Brazil, told AFP. Emirate in 2021/2022.

The 22nd edition of the competition will take place in Qatar, between November 20 and December 18, in the 2022/23 season, with Portugal facing Ghana (November 24), Uruguay (November 28) and South Korea (December 2), under the guidance of the Portuguese coach. Paulo Pinto in group H.

“We can expect the best from the organization, as the whole stadiums and the driving dynamics of the teams and the fans have already been tested there. The 2021 Arab Nations Cup was created with this intention and they tested everything successfully. In terms of infrastructure, they are also ready”, he recalls, of a country with an area of It is 11,500 square kilometers and has a population of 2.9 million.

The 2022 World Cup will be held in eight venues, spread across the capital, Doha, where the “Kinas” team appeared in the first stage, and the cities of Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Al Wakra and Lusail in the final stage, with a capacity of between 40,000 and 80,000 spectators.

According to FIFA, 24 out of the 32 teams will be housed within a 10-kilometre radius, ensuring a less stressful experience for players and the entourage in the 18th host country, while Portugal will train at a distance of 30,000 meters from the center of Doha.

“It is a relaxing World Cup for those who will watch it, but it requires a set of adapted behaviours. Fair play has to be very present, especially since the local fans will be very close to the fans of the different countries that are in the competition and there will be a lot of plasticity in the security forces,” Lewis admitted. Castro.

The competition returns to Asia, the continent that first appeared in 2002, and then in the first version in two countries, South Korea and Japan, to be held now in an unprecedented way in the Middle East and has the longest distance between the encrypted stadiums at 68 kilometers, allowing fans to watch more From a live match of the day.

“If people in other World Cups are in very different areas and there are big distances between cities, everyone will be here in Doha or in the surrounding areas and everything will work at a shorter distance between stadiums. That means it will be comfortable, but it demands a lot,” he stressed. From tolerance, the ethics of sports and “fair play”, because there will always be countries that win, others that lose, and accepting defeat is not the same for everyone.”

Working abroad for three years, Luis Castro was a Ukrainian hero with Shakhtar Donetsk (2019/20) and won the Emir of Qatar Cup with Al Duhail (2021/20), before heading to Botafogo, in the top-five only. Once a world champion nation.

“We will do the World Cup well. I don’t see any problem at this level. They are very friendly people, available to help and well trained to receive them. Then, the hotels and lodgings are high quality, but I don’t know if they are so ready to conquer people that it will require them so much.” There may be one or another service failure, but they will be on time. In general, the country is ready, ”he is guaranteed.

Because of Qatar’s desert climate, where temperatures average 50 degrees Celsius in summer, the 2022 World Cup has been shifted to the end of the calendar year, with the 61-year-old hoping to see “optimal conditions” for football in order. 25 degrees.

“There was no problem inside the stadiums, because they have air-conditioning, but outside. When I worked in Qatar, we played 20 degrees indoors, when we felt 45 or 50 degrees some days. At the time, when I was there, the temperatures were very mild and the levels were very mild,” he added. Good humidity and ideal conditions.”

This scenario also includes the “best promoter in the world”, with Luis Castro, who has coached Pinavel, FC Porto, Rio Avenue, Desportivo de Chavez and Vitoria de Guimarães, in the Portuguese Premier League, confident that “no one will complain about the terms of the training or the game” “.