Children and young people in Qatar can look forward to a special vacation at the end of the year because of the soccer World Cup in their country.
According to the national school authorities, the non-teaching period in the emirate begins on Monday on November 16, five days before the start of the World Cup (November 21) and ends on December 25, one week after the final (December 18). The 40-day closure of all schools in the desert state will more than triple the length of the year-end vacation, which in Qatar usually lasts twelve days.
With the special holidays, the World Cup planners want to prevent traffic congestion. In the capital Doha in particular, World Cup tourists should be able to move around as freely as possible. The plans of the Qatari Ministry of Education do not speak of expected class trips to World Cup games or similar school activities during the tournament.
The tournament organizers hope for 1.2 million visitors from all over the world, regardless of the first World Cup being held during the Advent season in winter. Due to the great heat in Qatar during the summer months with highs of over 40 degrees Celsius, the World Cup hosts and the world association FIFA, after global criticism of the climatic conditions in the traditional World Cup period in June and July, decided to postpone the World Cup finals Notified at the end of the year.
The focus of the organizers of the World Cup on the needs of World Cup tourists when planning their holidays only raises additional doubts about the intentions of the Qataris to develop a football culture in their country. It is at least questionable whether the students can and will use the additional free time to attend World Cup games in the stadium. The already controversial World Cup hosts, however, had always argued against criticism that by awarding the World Cup tournament to their country, a hitherto unknown enthusiasm for football should be aroused, especially in the younger generations.
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