England fans face a scramble for hotels at the Qatar World Cup – the entire country is almost completely sold out already.
The Three Lions secured their place in the following year’s finals in November.
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But supporters hoping to follow Gareth Southgate’s men to the Middle East in late 2022 may be disappointed.
As reported by the Associated Press, there is virtually no room available in the tournament, which runs throughout the month from November 21 to December 18.
It is understood that the majority has been taken by World Cup organizers by block-booking to supply teams, FIFA officials, sponsors and media.
The Doha desert is the only built-up area in the country to have all eight stadiums within a 30-mile radius of the capital.
The Accor, Hilton and Intercontinental, Marriott and Wyndham chains make up the majority of hotels in Doha.
However, the World Cup dates have nothing to book on any of their 28 sites.
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The only available hotel room covering the duration of the tournament was for £782 per night in a four-star hotel near the airport.
About 90,000 rooms are set to be made available via a website via Qatar’s supreme committee, in charge of planning the event – but that’s almost as many fans who traveled from the USA to Russia alone for the 2018 tournament .
The AP report said Qatar officials are expecting at least 850,000 overseas spectators for next year’s World Cup – although it could also exceed 1.2 million.
Between November 27 and 28, 276,000 ticket holders will attend the matches.
The most recent figures from the Qatar Tourism Authority state that there are 33,208 rooms in hotels and hotel apartments.
One-night stays have been banned, meaning fans may be forced to fly straight on match day and leave immediately after.
However, the cheapest flights from England to Doha already cost over £1,000 during the tournament.
There will be people who will not be able to travel to Qatar
Ronan Even
About 4,000 cabins on cruise ships will be up for grabs as they dock in Doha next winter.
But camping on a large scale in the desert is no longer a real possibility.
Ronan Evenn, executive director of Football Supporters Europe Group, told the AP. “We could end up in a situation where, at least for European and some Asian teams, the best option for fans would be to travel in and out on match day which would come with a cost.
“But it will also come with quite an extraordinary environmental footprint.”
“If the focus remains on premium accommodation and if flight prices stay the same there will be people who will not be able to travel to Qatar.
“No one is seriously arguing that Qatar should build a million hotel rooms.
“Maybe there’s some kind of middle ground and solution, temporary housing or whatever, but it’s hard to see that happening at the moment.”
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