High stakes for Qatar as World Cup starts

DOHA : The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday in a high-stakes event for the tiny nation which has faced a barrage of criticism and staked its reputation on delivering a smooth tournament, the first held in the Middle East.

The opening ceremony in a tent-shaped stadium will be held at 1440 GMT, ahead of the first match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

Few details were available on heads of state attending, but state media said the U.N. secretary general and Algeria's president arrived on Saturday.

Onstage, the South Korean singer Jungkook, of K-pop boy band BTS will perform a new official tournament song called Dreamers alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi, FIFA said in a statement early Sunday.

Qatar and FIFA hope the spotlight will turn to action on the pitch after the hosts faced mounting criticism over its treatment of foreign workers, LGBT rights and social restrictions, including banning alcohol at stadiums and pubic displays of affection. Organisers have also denied allegations of bribery for hosting rights.

The smallest nation to hold soccer's biggest global event, Qatar, a wealthy gas producer, aims to bolster its credentials as a global player, display strength to rivals in the region and placate conservative Sunni Muslim Qataris.

As some visitors savoured their first sips of beer at the launch of the FIFA Fan Festival on Saturday in central Doha, hundreds of workers, all men, gathered in a sports arena in an industrial zone on the city's edges where no alcohol was being served. They will be able to watch matches there.

"Of course I didn't buy a ticket. They're expensive and I should use that money for other things - like sending it back home to my family," Ghanian national Kasim, a security guard who has