Qatar 2022: English players’ wives, girlfriends to stay on £1b off-shore cruise-liner
Amid all the talk of hotel shortages at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it looks like some of the wives and girlfriends of England players have found a novel solution.
According to a new report, many have already booked stays on a luxury cruise-liner which is situated just off the Arabian state’s coastline.
As per The Sun, a handful of WAGS have opted to stay on the MSC World Europa, which has a valuation of over £1 billion. Described by a Sun source as a ‘floating palace’, it houses six pools, 14 ocean-view jacuzzis, dodgem cars, salons, boutiques and restaurants.
As you might imagine, all of this luxury and extravagance doesn’t come cheap.
Prices for rooms on the ship start at £300 per night, with some costing as much as £690. Across the entirety of the tournament (lets hope England make it that far) it’s expected that wives and girlfriends who choose to stay there could rack up a bill in excess of £6000.
One of the perks for guests is that Qatar’s famously strict alcohol laws can be skirted due to the fact that the boat is ‘off-shore – and therefore beyond the purview of the government.
As The Mirror states, the MSC World Europa can accommodate 6,762 guests at full capacity, with many England supporters expected to follow the example of the WAGS by booking a room on the cruise-liner.
Gareth Southgate’s side get their World Cup campaign underway on the 21st November, where they face Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Should England go all the way in Qatar, they will play at the Lusail Stadium on 18 December for the FIFA World Cup Final.
Accommodation for the tournament has been a hot topic of conversation ever since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar over a decade ago. The cause for concern relates to a stark lack of permanent hotels, as less than 50,000 hotel rooms currently exist in Qatar.
A huge infrastructure project is underway to make sure that fans from around the world have a place to stay during the tournament, but unconventional solutions, like the cruise-liner, have been utilised to try and ease the burden.
One other hotel option for the wives and girlfriends is the ‘Banana Island’ resort.
Mirror Sport recently revealed that some of the families have opted to stay in the £3,500 per night chalets instead, which have been constructed on stilts in the Arabian Sea.
Tourist chiefs describe it as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience with Banana island likely to be heavily in demand for the tournament. It is popular with VIPs and celebrities who love the ‘over-water’ villas also seen in the Maldives.
As for the England squad, they will be based at the more modest Souq Al Wakra hotel, which is situated just outside Doha.
