Fans paid to be ‘spies’ at World Cup

Qatar is paying a group of 40 England fans to attend the World Cup and spread positive messages about the country and tournament - and spy on their compatriots.

Qatar is paying 40 fans from England as well as 30 other countries to attend its controversial World Cup and spread positive messages about the host country

A group of 40 England fans are being paid by Qatar to attend the World Cup, with instructions to deliver positive messages about the experience, sing certain songs when requested and report critical social media posts.

Sources have confirmed that the group - including the England band leader John Hemmingham - will receive free flights, free apartment accommodation, £60 a day in spending money loaded on to a Visa card and complimentary tickets after signing a “code of conduct”. They are all booked on flights that leave for Doha on November 17.

Another 40 supporters from Wales have also signed up to the Fan Leader Programme, along with fans from the 30 other competing countries as part of what supporters’ groups have described as a “sinister, distasteful” marketing exercise.

All those who have signed up to the scheme are guaranteed a ticket to the opening ceremony but must stay in Qatar for two weeks. The idea, The Times has been told, is for them to sit in groups and sing at the appropriate times for the television cameras.

One document sent to fan leaders outlines the role they will be expected to play in the opening ceremony. It reads: “In celebration of the fans around the world, over the period of five minutes, fan chants from each nation will be played and you will be expected to stand up, sing the song/chant, wave your flags and represent your country. The camera will focus on each national fan group in turn.”

Qatar are paying hundreds of fans to attend its controversial World Cup and spread positive messages about the tournament and host country

Last month the England Supporters Travel Club hosted a fans’ forum at Wembley Stadium and invited the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), with Hemmingham, 59, appearing as a “UK fan leader”.

Football Association staff were present and heard Hemmingham, the band’s trumpet player, tell the audience about the positive experience he had on a recent trip to Doha.

Detailed on the FA website is the fact that Hemmingham “shared his personal experiences from his visit to Qatar for the Lusail Super Cup”. Hemmingham stated: “Qatar is very safe, there are lots of rules, and no crime.” The report on the meeting said he “stayed in a great hotel and there was a kind, exciting reception”.

“Qataris were keen to actively make adjustments based on fan recommendations for the Fifa World Cup,” the report added.

The Times has approached Hemmingham for comment but one insider asked last night (Thursday) if the England band “might play Qatar’s national anthem during the tournament”.

In March last year the FA received a request from the SC, which is organising the tournament, for members of the official supporters’ club to join a fan engagement forum. Other sources claim the first contact was made with fan groups two years ago.

But it was only in September that those approached were asked to sign up to a “code of conduct”. “It all sounds a bit sinister and distasteful,” one leading member of a fan group said.

The Times understands that the scheme has not been endorsed by the Football Supporters’ Association or the FA, which said it found out about the requirements only from international media reports.

A group of 40 England fans have been given free flights, accomodation and tickets for the World Cup - and in return asked to spread positive messages about the country

A New York Times report said the Dutch broadcaster NOS quoted a Holland fan saying he had agreed to monitor the activity of other supporters from his country.

A board member from the American Outlaws, the biggest US supporters’ group, agreed to take part, then helped to sign up others. However, he told the New York Times that, having already accepted one free trip to Qatar, he was not going to be part of the scheme.

Ahsan Mansoor, the fan engagement director for the 2022 World Cup who also attended the forum at Wembley last month, has insisted that “there is no obligation to promote or do anything”.

But sources have confirmed that there is indeed a code of conduct that had to be signed, with a request not to disparage the hosts and to “report any offensive, degrading or abusive comments” from other fans. Ideally they should supply screenshots.

“At best they’re volunteers for the World Cup and at worst they’re a mouthpiece for the Supreme Committee,” Ronan Evain, the executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said.

Fifa has written to all the federations competing at the World Cup pleading with them to focus on football when the tournament kicks off. The request comes after Australia released a collective statement against the host country’s human rights record and a group of captains pledged to wear antidiscrimination armbands.

Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, and Fatma Samoura, its general secretary, have responded with a letter to all 32 federations stressing that Fifa will not judge the culture in the Gulf state, where homosexuality is against the law.

Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, expressed similar sentiments this week by insisting players should not be expected to act in protest. “The decision [to hold the tournament in Qatar] was made by other people and if you want to criticise anybody, criticise the people who made the decision,” he said.

THE TIMES