Want an Airbnb for the World Cup? That’ll be £239,923, please

The dates are set, the groups are picked, the mascot unveiled, the stadiums — we’re assured — are on schedule to be finished. There’s no denying it. World Cup 2022 is forming on the horizon.

But, if you’re hoping to travel to Doha for this year’s festival of football, an Airbnb apartment in the Qatari capital could cost you as much as £240,000 for the month.

“The great location of our penthouse is perfect for showing off exactly what Doha has to offer,” reads one Airbnb listing for a four-bedroom apartment. Including service charge, it is priced at £239,923 for the four weeks of the competition from November 21 to December 18, the only dates when it is available.

“Please note, current price per night is not accurate,” the host warns. “Price per night is higher.”

The four-bedroom penthouse apartment in the city’s The Pearl district is the high end of rental options on the room letting site. But there are currently only 13 residences available, bottoming out at nearly £25,000 for a dingy one bedroom apartment in the city centre.

There are no hotels available in the four weeks of the competition, according to sites such as Booking.com.

If you can afford the high-end penthouse option — not far off the average UK house price of £260,000 — you will be treated to a balcony with panoramic views of the marina, a bespoke poker table for quieter nights in, a motorbike under the stairs and what appears to be a special table for hats.

The £25,000-a-month apartment is described as “a luxury place to live in” but also “a shared room in a rental unit”. It features brown sofas, brown curtains, brown doors, brown wardrobes, brown bathroom tiles and brown wallpaper.

Organisers have assured fans that more accommodation will become available, with “more than 30,000 hotel and residential rooms” still under construction which “will be released to the market in due course” according to the World Cup 2022 Supreme Committee. More than one million fans are expected to travel to Qatar for the competition and the FA has plans to provide all-inclusive packages for England fans looking to watch the team lift the trophy.

The 2022 World Cup has been beset by controversy since it was announced in 2010. Numerous high-ranking FIFA officials have resigned amid bribery allegations surrounding the bid and The Guardian estimated that more than 6,500 low-paid migrant workers died in the country in the decade following the announcement as the country prepares for the influx of hundreds of thousands of fans. Construction workers are reportedly paid as little as £200 a month.

FIFA and the Qatari Supreme Committee have yet to respond to requests for comment.

Communications director for the Supreme Committee, Fatma Al-Nuaimi, previously told Sky News: “What we have actually promised is that there will be experiences catered for every fan, so whatever people want to come and enjoy in this country they will find it.”