Qatar dispatches 1,000 state‑funded fans to US for World Cup matches

The Qatar Football Association and the state‑run DAAM fund arranged for about 1,000 supporters to travel to North America for Qatar's 2026 World Cup games. Travel, accommodation and local transport were fully paid, with fans housed in hotels in San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle. In San Francisco a fan march was promoted as a show of support, but a flyer shared by influencer Abdulla Al Ghafri (known as “QQQ”) indicated attendance was “mandatory” for supporters staying in five downtown hotels, while it was optional for those in Santa Clara. The compulsory nature of the march has sparked debate over how genuine the fan support is and raised accusations of sports‑washing, given Qatar’s ongoing human‑rights criticisms. Qatar will open Group B against Switzerland in San Francisco, with further matches in Vancouver (Canada) and Seattle (US).