Water shortage and rationing? No, not here - Doha Notebook 17

 Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe looks at the VAR monitor during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group F match between Belgium and Canada at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on November 23, 2022.

Photo credit: Jewel Samad | AFP

In Doha, Qatar

Water shortage and rationing: No, not here

*****

For a local Kenyan boy, born and bred in Nairobi, living in Doha feels like bliss.

It is now 18 days since I arrived here and I have neither experienced a dry tap for even a minute nor seen those ubiquitous black storage tanks in Kenyan homesteads. Qatar, despite being in the desert, has a very reliable water supply. Rationing is a rumour.

The country’s major water resources are desalination, groundwater and reuse of treated sewage effluent. Its desalinated water is sourced from the Persian Gulf and makes up about 60 per cent of the total supply. The main source of its groundwater are two giant aquifers.

*****

Biggest fuel company is state owned Woqod

*****

Here in Qatar, fuel stations of the big multinational oil companies such as TotalEnergies, Shell, Exxon etc are conspicuous by their absence. By far the most dominant oil company is the government-owned Woqod (Qatar Fuel).

Their fuel stations are dotted along the many roads of Qatar and are distinct in their deep blue brand colour. Woqod recently signed an agreement with the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation for the supply of charging units for electric vehicles (EV) at over 22 sites in this country. Whereas Qatar is a major oil exporter one can clearly see they are making big efforts in switching to use of clean energy. What a pleasant irony.\

*****
How many referees handle a single match?

*****

Take a guess, how many officials are handling a single World Cup match here? The number is exactly 10. You have the centre referee who makes the final decision. Then there are the two assistant referees commonly referred to as linesmen, though I wonder what the term would be now that we have female referees at this World Cup. Add a fourth official, and you complete the referees that are easily visible. The match also has a reserve assistant referee. Because of technology, a video assistant referee (VAR), is part of the officials mix. This VAR has an assistant, then there is also an Offside VAR, a Support VAR and a Standby VAR, making a total of 10.