Football fans from Wales and around the World have been warned they face a very different experience at this winter's football World Cup in Qatar.
Alcohol will be extremely hard to come by, with hotel bars one of few options and prices expected to be up to £15 a pint. There are also major concerns fans will struggle to find anywhere to watch matches on TV, as well as limited accommodation options.
WalesOnline has spoken to representatives of the Football Supporters Association to gather full details on what lies in wait.
At the time of writing, authorities in Qatar are still racing against the clock to get everything done before the hosts take on Ecuador at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
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There are still quite a few questions that still need to be answered, but on the whole we're already starting to get a clearer picture of what this tournament is going to look like.
Here's everything we know so far:
Alcohol
Booze is going to be very hard to come by in Qatar, and if you're lucky enough to find it, you can expect to pay some truly eye-watering prices.
There is one off licence on the outskirts of Doha, but it requires buyers to hold a licence, which many are unlikely to have unless they happen to be a resident. That sadly rules out any chance of buying a few cans for your hotel room.
Most thirsty fans will likely look at getting into one of the four or five star hotel bars, although make sure you take plenty of cash.
Outside of happy hour reductions, fans can expect to pay in the region £12-£15 for a pint in Doha, and you will have to consume it at that bar. Don't even think about going out into the street with a drink because you will almost certainly get into hot water with the authorities.
Getting into these bars could also be tricky, with space likely to be limited, although some hotels are reportedly considering outdoor spaces. How this would work is not really clear at this stage.
The only other places fans will be able to get a drink are at the two fan parks, and within the external perimeters outside the stadium, although even then fans will only be permitted to do so in specific areas. The fan parks will only sell Budweiser and only after 6.30pm.
Fans are strongly advised not to take booze into the country as this could result in you being sent back home.
Law and order, and dealing with disorder
The Football Supporters Association has been told there are four different 'processes' in dealing with offences in Qatar that would likely be considered minor in the west.
One is a telling off, the second is you have to leave the area, third is you lose your Hayya card, which will effectively mean you are sent home.
The fourth is jail.
There is still a lack of clarity over what offences will garner certain punishments. Certainly there is a chance of some cultural clashes, with fans urged to use their common sense and to show respect for local culture and customs.
For example, many fans might usually be tempted to cope with the heat by taking their shirt off, but this act could well ruffle feathers with the locals. Indeed, there is already a suggestion that fans doing so inside stadiums will be ejected.
Fans travelling to Qatar have been advised to co-operate with police at all times, and to not escalate anything by being confrontational.
Noel Mooney recently said: “It’s not OK to do things that you may get away with here, urinating in the street for example. You might get away with that on a dark night here, you won’t get away with it there. If you’re doing things that insult their culture, then they will call you out on it. We’ve looked at it as a platform for dialogue and improving the world. For trying to show best practices and our values, what we hold dear.”
However, there's not yet been clarification on just how any boisterous behaviour such as being drunk in public or singing in the streets, both of which are frowned upon by locals, will be handled. Indeed, there are some concerns that Qatari authorities have underestimated what sort of behaviour will be expected.
It's understood representatives from police forces around the world will be liaising closely with local authorities in a bid to ensure matches are policed proportionately, and offer advice on what to expect from the average western football fan.
Drugs
Drugs offences carry a minimum of a seven-year prison sentence, and fans have been warned that if they are offered anything in a bar, it could be an undercover police officer.
Even residual amounts of drugs can result in a heavy punishment.
What to do and nightlife
There are some local sights. The four-mile waterfront promenade, or Corniche, offers some stunning views of the Arabian sea, while the local souk boasts a number of local stalls selling various delicacies.
But on the whole, there's not an awful lot of culture for fans to soak up. Indeed, several sources have told WalesOnline that there's a real risk fans will get a bit, well, bored.
It's perhaps for that reason that organisers have been so keen to lay on some added extras.
The fan park, Al Bidda, is set to hold as many as 40,000 fans, and will contain giant screens and will also have an alcohol licence between 6.30pm and 1am. There has also been a suggestion there will be live performances from international artists, although there's not yet been any further information on that.
Budweiser will be the only beer available given they are the FIFA's official partner, and organisers have said prices will be 'affordable'.
Bizarrely, the folks at Arcadia (of Glastonbury fame) will also be there. For those wondering, it's essentially an elaborate arena with a DJ booth encased within a giant metal spider, playing house and rave music with light shows and pyrotechnics.
Booze there will be served from 10am-5am, but the event will be ticketed, with entry costs starting at £75 per day.
Watching games on TV
Incredibly, there's a very real chance most fans, and even players themselves, won't be able to watch the tournament on tele while they're there.
Broadcaster BeIn Sports is the rights holder for the tournament, and are charging significant premiums, believed to be as much as £25,000, for each location wanting to show the action.
It's understood that a 'location' constitutes a room.
So, for instance, if a hotel has five bars with televisions, they would have to pay that fee five times. If they wanted to show it in the hotel rooms themselves, they would have to pay the fee for each of those hotel rooms.
It's a baffling turn of events, and organisers have already been urged to acknowledge the absurdity of it all and reconsider, although it's understood there is unlikely to be a U-turn.
Accommodation
Finding somewhere to stay has proved one of the biggest challenges for fans, with hotel spots at a premium across the nation.
The spots that are available are likely to burn a pretty large hole in people's pockets.
Indeed, accommodation is understood to be the main source of worry for the the Football Supporters Association, who have advised fans staying for a prolonged period to consider moving from hotel to hotel in order to save money.
Many of the cheapest villas and apartments have already gone, although authorities have promised that thousands of new rooms will be made available.
Qatar only has a population of just over two million, and an estimated minimum of 100,000 workers are likely to be brought in from outside the country in order to ensure the tournament runs smoothly.
With the 32 teams, officials, staff, and media also in need of somewhere to stay, it's clearly going to place a huge strain on infrastructure even without visiting fans.
To cope with demand, a number new apartments are hurriedly being constructed ahead of the tournament's curtain-raiser next month, although many of the new complexes are likely to be situated several miles outside of the city, and concerns have already been raised over what sort of amenities will be available to fans in these locations.
There are a number of hotels situated in the cites, but most have already had 80 per cent of rooms taken by FIFA, while the remainder has largely gone to contractors. Some of those rooms could yet be returned, but whether they will be made available to fans remains to be seen.
Those staying in cruise ships might well have the most preferable set-up. All food and drink is included, while fans will also likely be able to watch games on the TV, which will likely be something of a luxury for those there (more on that later). They will also be pretty centrally located for added convenience.
However, it won't be cheap, with prices starting at around £500 a night.
Most Wales and England fans are expected to stay in the 'cabins' on the outskirts of town, but these have already received somewhat, ahem, mixed reviews.
In their own investigation, the Daily Mail likened one of the sites to 'a PoW camp', again citing concerns over amenities and facilities. At an estimated cost of £170 a night, it's hardly a ringing endorsement.
Another option is the ‘Al Khor Camp’, a tented village listed as one of the official accommodation options, which is situated around 40 minutes drive from central Qatar.
Again, it's not quite clear what sort of experience fans can expect here, although there has been a suggestion that there will be a communal swimming pool, gym, tennis courts, air conditioning, and a collection of small food kiosks.
LGBT fans
Frustratingly, there is still no clarity on guidelines around LGBT fans.
FAW chief Noel Mooney has already stated he has received assurances that all fans will be welcome, but has seemingly advised all couples, whether gay or heterosexual, to refrain from showing any displays of public affection.
“We have a very strong LGBTQ community among our supporters and a good number are travelling for sure,” Mooney told MirrorFootball.
“We’ve been told there will be tolerance but even as a heterosexual couple they don’t do public affection on the streets.
“Where to watch is provocation. If you’re going to a mosque and running around with a rainbow flag, then that kind of stuff is when we ask people to demonstrate common sense.
“We’re going to a different country with a different culture. When people visit our culture they see things in ours they won’t like either so we’re urging common sense first of all and to be tolerant and mindful of their culture. When you go on holiday to another country you do think of their culture and behave in a certain way to show respect for that.
The Rainbow Wall, Welsh football's main LGBT supporters group has already expressed grave concerns, alongside counterparts from England and other European nations, and there's a real feeling that the issue has not been properly addressed by authorities.
It's not clear how many LGBT fans, if any, are planning to make the trip, but aside from authorities stressing the message of 'all welcome', there has been precious little in terms of real assurances.
Stadiums
The one real positive of the tournament (overlooking the obvious point around the treatment of workers for one minute) is that the stadiums are, we're told, looking very good.
Many of them have obviously been built specifically for the tournament, with the finishing touches now being applied to each of them.
Fans should expect an initial ticket check and x-ray scanner on the perimeter leading into the fan zone compound, where you'll be able to purchase another cool pint of Budweiser three hours ahead of the game.
No alcohol will be sold in the stadiums, although non-alcoholic beer will be available.
Fans have been warned that some of the perimeters around the stadiums are quite large, and getting there in plenty of time is advisable.
The recent Lusail Super Cup, a test event for next month's showpiece, certainly highlighted a few other issues.
Around the perimeter, there were no real facilities or toilets, with many of the kiosks reportedly running out of water in the searing heat.
The importance of solving those issues, as well as doing more to make the experience more friendly to disabled fans is understood to have been highlighted as a key area in need of improvement ahead of the start of the tournament.
Transport around Doha will largely be free in order to get to and from stadium, although fans are urged to plan their journeys carefully as, given many fans will be based on the outskirts of the city, transport hubs are likely to be very busy.
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