With the 2014 World Cup opening in Brazil tomorrow, there are several ways to watch the matches in Qatar. Here’s our guide to enjoying the tournament:
Tune in at home
FIFA is live-streaming the tournament, but that feed is only available in some countries, and doesn’t include Qatar. So those who wish to watch the games at home while here will have to pay for a beIN Sports global subscription, which is available for televisions, home computers and mobile devices.
This can be done by purchasing a beIN Sports set-top box and then buying a World Cup package subscription.
Alternatively, Ooredoo customers with a direct-to-home Mozaic package can purchase a beIN Sports+ global package by pressing the blue button on their remote control.
Go out
Several venues around Qatar have announced plans to screen the matches. The opening game will be played by Brazil and Croatia, and kick off on Thursday, June 12 at 11pm Doha time.
The list of places to watch the matches so far include:
The Gaming Lounge
This 24/7 spot in Al Sadd will screen matches on TV screens up to 60″ large. Cost of attendance is QR15/person, but there is no additional fee to watch the matches if attendees are already playing games. Snacks and beverages are available for purchase. For more information, call 40298521.
Kempinski Residences & Suites, Doha
The Sky Villa on the 61st floor will turn into a “stadium overlooking the city” from June 12 to June 28, with grass on the floor and a large television screen. The entrance fee is QR50/person, but doesn’t cover the cost of drinks or snacks.
Entrance is free starting in Ramadan (which is expected to fall around June 28 this year). Due to limited space, Kempinski is asking people to RSVP by calling 4405-3325 or emailing [email protected].
Oryx Rotana Doha
This hotel is inviting residents to “shout at the top of your lungs” with an enthusiastic crowd of World Cup fans at its Al Nafourah Tent. The cost of attendance is spending at least QR150 inside the tent, and the matches will be screened from June 12 until end of Ramadan.
Reservations are recommended by calling 4402 3333.
La Cigale Qatar
Selected matches with English commentary (including Thursday’s match) will be screened at the Le Central restaurant. The cost of attendance is QR99/person and includes a salad bar and free drink options.
Reservations are recommended and can be made at 4428 8771.
Selected matches (including Thursday’s match) will also be screened with Arabic commentary at the hotel’s Shisha Garden. The cost of attendance is to spend at least QR80/person. Reservations are recommended and can be made at 4428 8702.
Four Seasons Doha
Matches will be showed on big screens from June 12 to June 28 (6pm to 3am) at the Tent in the Garden Terrace. The cost of attendance is to spend at least QR165/person on drinks, snacks and shisha. Reservations can be made at 4494 8888.
Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel
A launch party for the World Cup will be held on Thursday at the Champions Bar from 5pm to 2am. Cost of attendance is QR60/person and includes one beverage. Matches will be screened at Champions on two big screens from June 12 to June 26. Reservations can be made at 44196100.
Hilton Hotel – Doha
The Hilton is screening all the tournament’s matches at a newly set-up fan zone that has giant screens. Entry is free and a DJ from Dubai will be playing music.
Ezdan Hotels
Ezdan will screen matches at its sports zone tent on the 4th floor of the complex’s atrium. Family and friends are invited to watch the games while eating snacks and soft drinks. The cost of entrance is QR75/person.
Intercontinental Hotel Doha
Paloma and Belgian Cafe will both be screening the matches over the next month. A hotel representative told Doha News that there is no minimum cost to attend. At Belgian Cafe, customers can either sit at the bar or get a table and order food.
At Paloma, there’s only a cover fee on Wednesdays (QR80/person) for men who don’t dine because it is a weekly ladies’ night. Those who plan to sit and eat should reserve their tables at 44844954.
Holiday Villa Hotel and Residences
Kafe Ole will screen the matches and offer a “Samba Fever” dinner buffet as part of their World Cup promotion. There is no minimum cost to watch, but the restaurant said they would like attendees to at least order some beverages and snacks. To make reservations, call 44084248.
St. Regis Doha
Jazz at Lincoln Center players go on hiatus over the summer, so the club will turn into a sports bar for the World Cup. There is no minimum spending limit to watch the games. For reservations and more information, call 44460451.
W Doha
Matches during the first two weeks of the tournament will be screened at the poolside lounge, Wahm. After that, games will be aired in the Ramadan tent.
Download and view the full match schedule here (PDF).
Or for Doha times, see here:
The finals are tentatively scheduled for July 13 (which falls in the middle of Ramadan), and the international football community is already picking its favorites:
World Cup expectations summed up in one Venn diagram: http://t.co/PUlnmyf5Zq #babb Via @TeleFootball pic.twitter.com/YnUsoijyg1
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 10, 2014
Who do you think will win? Thoughts?
However for the late games those of us who enjoy a beer while watching the game with friends will be disappointed. Due to Qatar regulations bars will have to shut just after the first half has finished, meaning that you would miss most of the second half if you went to watch it at home. I understand that Qatar has its rules but you would think they would relax them for the duration of the World Cup as they are supposed to be demonstrating how welcoming to the world Qatar will be for football’s biggest festival.
Looks like they failed the first test.
Update, apparently some bars are staying open for the second half even if they are not serving alcohol. That is fair enough
Thats not correct. I am ringing them now. Champions shuts at half time but most others are staying open until 0245. The alcohol differs from place to place some are finishing serving at one others 2. You can carry on drinking alcohol after this time you just cannot be served anymore.
In the US the same applies by the way. Even for such late games (or early games as was the case in 2010), sports bars in the majority of the states complied with not serving alcohol after 1am would stay open until the end of the games.
Some of the bars during Euro 2012 were not too bad, although this time around, you will only be able to see about a third of the tournament in any bar.
with regards to the late kick offs, I am guessing there will not any bars that will be able to show the games that will start 1am our time.
At home with family and a beer!
Should this article not be titled ‘where to watch two weeks of the World Cup 2014 in Qatar’? I’ll be watching it at home with a spritzer.
I just called beIN. To get a 3 month subscription costs QR 566 — and that doesn’t include the receiver box, which would be an additional QR 150 minimally. So just to watch the WC matches on my TV at home would cost me close to $200 USD.
Highway robbery if you ask me. I’ll happily pay a reasonable extra fee, but $200 is just ridiculous…
I’ll stream the matches on my laptop through a variety of sites instead.
Not a big screen TV experience, but at least I won’t be shelling out $200 to some scheisters…
get Mozaic, worldcup package is 65 $ for 3 month!
There email said… “Subscribe NOW: at the incredible price of only $210 (USD).” I laughed given how bad their premiership coverage was. One game kept changing the commentary during the game and whatever language it was it definitely wasn’t either Arabic or English! Bring back the old website – It worked much better.
For $210, you can take Ryanair, fly to Barcelona AND Rome and watch the matches on big screen outside along with celebrating people. (But that’s in Europe, which we all now is so cheap)
If you have Ooredoo Mosaic at home, then it’ll only be 80 riyals extra to watch the world cup. It’s cheaper option than getting a beIN receiver.
“extra” is the keyword here
Actually “IF” is the key word here…
Mosaic is only real good offer. I am very happy with it because finally I will be able to see the matches in Spanish on BeIN channels.
I have Mosaic and select games are aired for free on beIN… I was able to catch Sunday’s games for example but none of yesterdays games.
Looks like some nice fancy packages at some nice fancy places to enjoy the games but what about the guys who cannot have access to this places or cannot get into this places. Would it not be a good idea to put some big screens around some popular places where people gather so that the football lovers can watch and enjoy the world cup action
like, ..for free??!!
People who cannot afford or get into these places are shunned and put in their seperate “bachelor” ( not to be confused with the apartheid camps that were prevalent in South Africa) camps. It’s preferred if we pretend like these people don’t exist. No Football for them unless it is to fill empty stands ofcourse.
There are two massive screens, one by the front cafe’s of the Souq, one towards the restuarants at the end of the Souq… it was actually quite amazing until Spain lost to the Netherlands. =/
Most spots in the Souq are NOT broadcasting the games to to beIN stations’ high costs for commercial venues. #Fail
Pardon my ignorance, but why is Football so closely correlated to Beer and Bars? Does the enjoyability quotient come down without alcohol?
Not just football.. any sport!
Its because watching sport is normally done with friends so its a social event, hence people like to eat, drink & be merry!
Don’t see what’s wrong with that
plz dont get defensive. i did not say it was wrong. It’s just a different way of “watching sports”, being in a “social event” and being “merry”.
you’re right, however a beer (not 10!) when your team is playing, why not?
Some of us need it to watch the teams we support……
You an English supporter by any chance? Just saying- some supporters need the beer more than others!
Yep! Also my club team have been pretty rubbish for a while now so when I go watch when back home I cannot think of any thing worse than sitting through 90 minutes of dross whilst sober!
yes
Absolutely!
Because Budweiser is a major sponsor to the sport.
Yes, I agree…
Options you missed in “Tune in at home”:
– Get an online subscription for 438 QAR, valid for 3 months to stream all beIN sports channels on your laptop or smart phone / tablet.
– Buy the beIN 3 months World Cup satellite card for 573 QAR if you already have a compatible receiver.
– Buy the beIN receiver plus the 3 months World Cup subscription for 751 QAR (Dish not included)
However for the late games those of us who enjoy a beer while watching the game with friends will be disappointed. Due to Qatar regulations bars will have to shut just after the first half has finished, meaning that you would miss most of the second half if you went to watch it at home. I understand that Qatar has its rules but you would think they would relax them for the duration of the World Cup as they are supposed to be demonstrating how welcoming to the world Qatar will be for football’s biggest festival.
Looks like they failed the first test.
Update, apparently some bars are staying open for the second half even if they are not serving alcohol. That is fair enough
When you say late games, do you mean the ones that start at 1am our time?
I doubt the bars in town serve alcohol during Ramadan.
So FIFA award Qatar the World Cup for 2022 but don’t include Qatar in their countries of live streaming for this year’s World Cup. Can anyone find the logic in that?!
I suspect it’s not FIFA but rather BeIN’s doing, otherwise they would lose out of many of those expensive subscriptions. In many countries the national (free) tv channels air the matches, so offering a free alternative causes no losses to anyone, not the case here
Thanks!
Answer to the headline: with friends in the comfort of a home and with plenty of beer.
I wish aspire the “goddess place for sports” would put screens like bigs screen to let us enjoy games in open grounds… where we can scream as loud as we can “Goooooooaàaaaalllllllllll !!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Apparently there is to be a large screening tent for all games, with lots of parking at Katara – which I imagine will be free to enter… There is no link on their website that I can find, but I was there on Sunday and they have built a large tent structure and paved a huge area for cars just as you enter on the right from the St Regis side – could be an option, but definitely no alcohol there, for sure. Strictly family viewing I would have thought.
You can watch the games on your computer using this method http://worldcupcollege.com/live/watch-fifa-world-cup-2014-online/
Another wonderful PR opportunity lost to show that the World Cup is hosted at the right venue for 2022. Imagine if the Tornado Tower or better the Torch was lit up with a superimposed Jules Rimmet Trophy for the duration of the World Cup, or indeed a yellow and green color scheme on the Corniche in a show of unity…..or even a Brazilian Festival at Katara……………
Why aren’t there big screens up in all the parks? Late at night it’s not so hot. Make it free for everyone (bachelors included) to picnic and enjoy the football free of charge. That way not only people prepared to pay / lucky enough to be able to pay extortionate fees to watch at home, or people able to go to bars can enjoy the football in the spirit it’s intended.
too hot, wait that’s funny…