Doha in the eye of Libé
For the 2022 World Cup, our special correspondents tell the sidelines of this controversial competition. First episode: the application, mandatory for spectators of the World Cup, which accumulates last minute failures.
Any trip abroad has its pre-departure stress. We check, rather than ten times, to have put his passport in his bag, that the plane tickets are well printed and the taxi ordered. But to go to Qatar, a bonus stress is offered to me: the Hayya Card. Throughout the duration of the World Cup, supporters and journalists must download this application then enter personal information, scan their passport and match tickets or their accreditation. A way for the Qatari authorities to ensure that the only foreigners going to Doha in November and December come for the World Cup, while the country is already struggling to accommodate the large million expected supporters.
On paper, nothing really rocket science, provided you have a smartphone to validate this sort of 2.0 pass which also allows you to have free access to the Doha metro. But who says technological innovation often says, at the time of the launch, bugs of all kinds. Compared to the two colleagues accompanying me to Qatar, I thought I was the most polished: in the space of a week my card was validated. The request of one of my traveling companions was initially refused without any explanation – spoilershe ended up being accepted – the other waited several weeks, until finally getting the precious sesame a few days before our big departure.
I was just “thinking” because two days before getting on the plane, a journalist from another media told me that at the airport, refusals rained down for Hayya’s problems. Bug most often encountered: an error on the dates of birth or validity of the passport. To verify this, he says, one must self-scan his Hayya card. Just to remove any doubt, I comply and discover that, on the application, my day and month of birth have been reversed. Here I am now born on March 9 when I am from September 3. My flight is in thirty-one hours, a new request can take up to five days: I can already see the plane taking off with my empty seat. And imagine myself in front of my TV, covering the World Cup from my apartment.
After going through all the feelings, I find a phone number on the internet that is supposed to serve as an after-sales service in case of any problem with Hayya. At the end of the line, after tough negotiations in English and several interlocutors, I was finally told that an accelerated procedure was possible. A few hours later, I received the long-awaited email: “Your Hayya entry permit is now ready.” I sacrificed my Sunday night, bit my ten nails, sent panic messages to everything Freed and exploded my out of package, but everything is now settled: I will see Doha.