Written in SPORT he 11/19/2022 07:00

The Qatar Cup hasn’t even started and it’s already taking the title of the most convoluted in history. Protests, bans, controversies and uncertainties surround the tournament. From threats to gay people going to the World Cup to banning beer in and around stadiums, it has it all. The latest: On the eve of opening night, there is no confirmation of which artists will perform. Earlier this Saturday (19), FIFA confirmed only one name: South Korean Jungkook, member of K-pop group BTS

The party starts at 12 p.m. this Sunday (20) and will be broadcast, in Brazil, by Globo (open TV), SporTV (pay channel) and Globoplay (streaming service). An hour later, the opening match begins, Qatar v Ecuador.

Neither Fifa, owner of the World Cup, nor the local organizing committee had published the schedule for the event until Friday evening. The place of the ceremony is known (the Al Bayt stadium, in the city of Al Khor, with a capacity of 60,000 people) and the time is known (6 p.m. in Qatar, 12 p.m. in Brazil), but it there is no definition of the artists who participate in it. .

Some sites claim that the presence of American rapper Lil Baby, Canadian actress and singer Nora Fatehi is confirmed.

The rest is speculation, with a host of potential guests.

We are talking about the Nigerian Patoranking, the Englishman Robbie Williams, the American Jason Derulo, the Lebanese Myriam Fares, the Colombians J Balvin and Maluma and the Trinidado-Tobanese Nicki Minaj.

Among sports journalists, the presence of Maluma, Minaj and Fares is considered almost certain, since they perform the official song of the World Cup, “Tukoh Taka”, which was only released this Friday.

The certainty are the absences of pop stars Dua Lipa and Rod Stewart, both English, and Shakira. They cited Qatar’s disregard for human rights issues as a reason for disregarding attendance at any events organized by the country.