Doha looks and feels empty and no amount of cash can buy authenticity for the World Cup

Television executives are not stupid. They know how to make something feel and look good.

That is why the plot of land in Doha that stands between the Souq Waqif and the huge adjoining mosque currently houses a row of seven or eight TV studios.

As the world turns on the television to watch the Gulf’s inaugural Football World Cup for the next four weeks, these are the things they will see as backdrops.

At 11:18 a.m. on Friday morning, the second call to prayer of the day sounded in the empty streets and alleyways of a traditional market believed to be at least 100 years old.

But when it stopped, a more monotonous, persistent sound took its place. The sound of a cherry picker finishing the decorations for the 2022 World Cup on the nearby waterfront.

Doha certainly looks and feels ready for the World Cup, but it also looks and feels empty

The Doha World Cup is not about celebrating the past or the traditions. It’s about a future, a quest for global status. That’s why so many millions of pounds have been thrown at a sporting event that already looks and feels like no other.

Qatar was determined to present the world with something different from the start and here it is finally. A World Cup controversially won 12 years ago and then built on exploitation and brutality begins here on Sunday and the truth is no one knows yet how the hell it will turn out.

Walking through Doha on a Friday, taking the city’s extraordinarily efficient metro network to three of the eight stadiums in and around Qatar’s capital, felt a bit like being dropped from the sky into the world’s largest theme park.

Nothing feels particularly real here. Everything is polished and polished like a new shoe. Across the bay from the old part of town is the Pearl, a monument to Qatar’s wealth, with £1,000-a-night hotels pointing skyward. Out of reach for most, but not out of sight.

On the Corniche, the long pedestrian walkway that borders the city, workers strolled around cleaning up litter that simply didn’t exist. Why would it if no one really seems to be here?

If the world’s football supporters are really heading for this tiny state that from the air looks like it’s about to be pushed into the Arabian Gulf by Saudi Arabia, they’re not there yet.

Nothing feels real here – everything is polished and polished like a new shoe

With temperatures already above 30°C on Friday morning, a group in Argentina shirts sought shade under a huge skyscraper with an image of their own Lionel Messi. Across the Corniche by the water, a little boy in a Brazilian shirt was kicking a ball with his father.

In reality they all looked like they were locals. There was no sense that the greatest football show in the world was about to begin. Doha certainly looks and feels ready. It also looks and feels empty.

Further north, on the metro from the capital, the train suddenly emerged from darkness into light and loomed the host venue for the 2022 World Cup final. The remarkable 80,000 capacity Lusail Stadium is the showpiece of the Qatar World Cup. From a distance, it looks more like a giant breakfast bowl nestled in the dust. Up close, the gold glistens in the sun.

This Tuesday, Lusail will host the first of its 10 World Championship matches. There, Messi and Argentina meet Saudi Arabia.

This is a stadium that has no character. But this World Cup was never about that. It has always been about modernity and Doha does all of that brilliantly well. Qatar’s big sale – the only sale given the restrictions to really try and enjoy here – has always been its uniqueness. This is a World Cup of unparalleled accessibility.

The Doha metro rushes from north to south and east to west at high speed. It’s new and expensive and feels that way. And it works.

Qatar promised from the start to host a World Cup that had it all, but the biggest obstacle was that money could never buy authenticity

The journey from the Lusail to Stadium 974 – built from just that number of reclaimed shipping containers – nestled on the waterfront 16 miles away, took about 40 minutes with one transfer. Back to the city to the Education City Stadium was another 20 minutes at the most.

Who will be present in these admittedly impressive stadiums on match day remains to be seen. It was rumored on Friday that match tickets could be available at short notice to fill some gaps.

Though there won’t be many. They never are. FIFA always finds a way to put bums in seats every four years, but those who have come from competing countries to be here may be fewer in number than in previous years and it’s not hard to see why.

Qatar is staggeringly expensive. Nor is it as willing to deviate from its conservative Muslim traditions to receive visitors, as many had assumed.

The 80,000 Lusail stadium where the final will take place has no character whatsoever

From a distance it looks more like a giant breakfast bowl nestling in the dust, but up close the gold glistens in the sun

For example, it was confirmed on Friday that it is not possible to buy beer in and around the stadiums on match day. Those who want to drink will have to do so in the fan parks for around £12 a beer.

With all this in mind, it is to be hoped that the football is at least good. The climate here will play a role in that. It will be devilishly hot for the group matches starting at 1pm (10am in the UK), but slightly more bearable from then on. Teams will certainly benefit from so little travel.

Qatar promised from the start to host a World Cup that had it all, except the biggest obstacle to that was that money could never buy authenticity.

The worldwide spread of football continues and that’s right. But this particular tournament has carried the scent of much of what is wrong with our game for so long. Too much money. Too much dishonesty. Too much fake.

Qatar was always convinced that it could wipe all that out once football really started and it might just do it after all. No doubt it will all look beautiful on the TV screen.