NZME's Michael Burgess in Qatar. Photo / Michael Burgess.
NZME's Michael Burgess in Qatar. Photo / Michael Burgess.
OPINION
During summer in Qatar the heat grips you like a vice – and never really lets go.
You know that feeling when you return to your car, after being parked at the beach all day and it's baking inside? That level of discomfort is the reality of Doha rightnow, every time you step outside.
Which is why most people don't – unless they really have to. On Wednesday afternoon, I set off on foot for the All Whites' hotel, about 1500 metres from my accommodation. It seemed ridiculous to take a taxi – despite the suggestions from the hotel concierge – but my simple stroll turned into something of an ordeal through dense 42C heat. It's like walking in a sauna, or steam room if the humidity is high, and you become anxious about making a wrong turn and adding more unnecessary metres. The amount of sweat on my shirt was embarrassing.
It was a similar story on Tuesday night, on the walk from the final stop of the Doha Metro to Ahmed bin Ali stadium, where Australia faced the United Arab Emirates. The media gate was at the opposite end of the arena, and the extra 500 metres was a considerable effort.
"I always bring a towel and a change of shirt," said one Fifa veteran, as he registered my amazement at the strength of the solar.
Of course, what is frivolous and fleeting for me, is a brutal reality for the construction workers, security guards, motorcycle couriers and others who work outside during the summer months.
The heat has also meant extra challenges for the All Whites. When they were last here in March (when the temperature is more likely to peak at 27C) they were confined to their hotel bubble because of the Covid-19 pandemic, now their outdoor movements are limited because of the seasonal conditions.
NZME's Michael Burgess recovers from a sweaty walk in Qatar. Photo / Michael Burgess.
Popping out for a coffee or a wander requires serious planning, and usually via a network of air-conditioned corridors. Team management haven't put any specific restrictions on players – preferring to operate a "high trust" environment – and it tends to be self-regulating, as players know that any excess time spent outside would be detrimental to their performance in training or games.
Incredibly, the heat has been having less impact upon training. The Herald attended the All Whites' session at Education City Stadium, where they will face Oman in their final behind-closed-doors, preparation game on Friday morning, and got to experience the remarkable pitchside vents, pumping cool air towards the field, which bring down the temperature to a more manageable 19C.
But it's still a strange scenario. Football internationals are rarely played in June in Doha, with only a handful over the past five years. Indeed, the Qatar national team decamped for Europe last Thursday, planning to spend almost three months away in more agreeable conditions.
Fifa shifted these intercontinental playoffs to a neutral venue partly because of Covid-19 concerns, with the traditional home-and-away playoffs seen as logistically risky, along with the opportunity for Qatar to have a dry run ahead of November's World Cup. But the move has come at a cost, especially for the fans.
One of the greatest joys of following your national team is congregating together outside the stadium and in a town square, before and after the match, in a collective show of passion and pride. That will be impossible in Doha and supporters will be limited to sterile bars, restaurants and air-conditioned shopping malls, with little chance of the magic spontaneous gatherings we saw when the All Whites faced Peru in a friendly in Barcelona last weekend.
