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Felix Brambilla (left), the CEO of Overseas Network, and Luis Robles, World Cup project manager, during one of their trips to Qatar as they prepare for the 2022 World Cup
Luis Robles
Former Inter Miami goalkeeper and captain Luis Robles dreamed of playing in a World Cup from his days as a youth soccer player in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to his early pro years in Germany until Jan. 6, 2021, when he announced his retirement after a career-ending arm fracture.
He will finally fulfill his dream – with a twist.
Robles, 37, will be managing visitor hospitality at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which runs from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.
He landed the dream job last May after several months trying to figure out what to do post-retirement. He considered graduate school. He explored front office jobs with Inter Miami and other MLS clubs. He even delivered groceries for Instacart for a brief period because he was tired of sitting around his Parkland home.
Then, a phone call with former U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati led Robles to Felix Brambilla, CEO of Coral Gables-based Overseas Network, the official U.S. agent for MATCH hospitality at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Overseas is in a joint venture with Premier Partnership and Elevate Sports Ventures and their mission is to provide World Cup visitors with tickets, lodging and unique cultural experiences.
As it happens, Robles’ new office is directly across the street from Inter Miami’s business office.
Robles joined Overseas on May 1, 2021, and has since made multiple trips to Qatar, including a three-week stay during the recent Arab Cup, a test event for the World Cup.
“I always thought as a teenager and professional soccer player that I’d go to the World Cup as a player and instead I am going as a manager in event hospitality,” Robles said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Although he knew nothing about the hospitality industry, Robles earned a Finance degree from the University of Portland and got some business acumen as a longtime executive of the MLS Players Association.
“Even though I was probably underqualified, Felix let me into his ecosystem and has mentored me, corrected me, rebuked me at times, and educated me to reinvent who I am. Now, when I meet people, I don’t introduce myself as Luis Robles former professional soccer player. I introduce myself as Luis Robles, manager of the World Cup project for Overseas.”
Brambilla has been involved in the past seven World Cups. Like many soccer fans around the world, when he heard about Qatar, he had doubts.
“When this opportunity first came up, I was one of the people wondering what was the logic of hosting the World Cup in Qatar,” Brambilla said. “I wouldn’t say I was skeptical, but I wanted answers. It took our first trip last June to get answers.”
Brambilla and Robles are well aware of the ongoing concerns about the Cup host’s human rights history and other humanitarian issues such as anti-homosexuality laws. But they both said their perceptions of the gulf nation changed having spent extended time there.
“Football is going to be able to fill its missions like never before,” Brambilla said. “We’re going to bring together populations that don’t understand each other, that are full of cliches towards each other. When Luis met me there in June, being from a family with military background he was arriving with those apprehensions. Will I be welcome there? Will I be understood?”
The answer is yes, Robles and Brambilla said.
“I was pleasantly surprised because you have preconceived notions about what a place is like,” Robles said. “My brother served in Iraq and Afghanistan. My Dad has this incredibly proud tradition and heritage of military perspective. So that’s where I was coming from.
“So many of us have little exposure to the Middle East and the one thing that really sticks out after being there is the hospitality. They are warm and genuine and that catches you off guard because you’re already formulated this idea of who these people are. The World Cup allows us to share experiences and learn from each other.”
Brambilla added: “We found a country that was more open-minded from what we expected. They want to be a bridge between the Middle East and the rest of the world. This is not propaganda in any way. This is not something that has been fed to us by FIFA or anybody else. This is a human feeling you get when you go there, when you find yourself with Qatari families and ex-pats who are over there.”
They found out that Qatari families like to camp in the desert on weekends and visit sand dunes, so they are incorporating those activities into their travel packages. They are building two Bedouin-inspired camps, one in the southern dunes area and a larger one in the desert that will include entertainment venues and a lighted soccer field. They are offering ATV rides, camel rides and falcon handling experiences.
After attending the Arab Cup they both firmly believe the World Cup fan experience will be better than what skeptics fear. The stadiums were full of enthusiastic fans – men, women and children. The eight stadiums are all within driving distance of each other, so fans will be able to see multiple games in a day if they want. And, yes, fans will be allowed to celebrate with alcohol.
“A lot of people are asking, `Will I be able to celebrate in a Muslim country?’ Yes, you will,” Brambilla said. “The Qatari culture doesn’t involve alcohol, but they are welcoming Western visitors and saying `You can celebrate in the manner you enjoy, but let’s respect each other.’’’
Fans interested in traveling to the Qatar World Cup can get information at https://usa.match-hospitality.com/
2022 World Cup
Where: Qatar
When: Nov. 21-Dec. 18, 2022
Teams: 32
Venues: Eight air-conditioned outdoor stadiums
For tickets, lodging, tourist packages: https://usa.match-hospitality.com/
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 8:50 PM.
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.
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By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter, with CNA
The Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) yesterday explained it expects imported instances of COVID-19 to even further increase these days and tomorrow — the peak period of time for international arrivals right before the Lunar New Yr holiday getaway.
The nation has seen much more imported scenarios of COVID-19 considering the fact that it executed a new plan on Tuesday demanding travelers on extended-haul flights to bear a polymerase chain response (PCR) check on arrival. 
All those who examination optimistic are taken instantly to hospitals from airports.
Photograph: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Instances
Most of the recent verified conditions of COVID-19 ended up travelers arriving from the US, CECC details showed.
On Tuesday, 58 of the 625 travelers arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan Worldwide Airport analyzed favourable for COVID-19, a positivity amount of 9.28 {e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a}, with 30 of the 58 confirmed conditions coming from the US, the data showed.
On Wednesday, 24 of the 430 travelers arriving at Taoyuan airport analyzed beneficial, a positivity price of 5.58 {e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a}. Of the 24 verified cases, 19 came from the US, the heart stated.
Image: Tony Yao, Taipei Periods
Yesterday early morning, 14 of the 180 arriving tourists analyzed positive, with 13 of the verified scenarios coming from the US, it mentioned.
Victor Wang (王必勝), the center’s on-web-site commander at Taoyuan airport, said additional global vacationers are anticipated to get there right now and tomorrow, when most men and women are returning for the Lunar New Calendar year holiday getaway, which starts on Jan. 31. 
Site visitors from abroad are demanded to bear a 14-working day quarantine.
“We be expecting the positivity fee to stay superior amid travelers” arriving nowadays and tomorrow, he stated. 
About 4,200 individuals are expected to get there right now and 3,900 tomorrow, said Facilities for Disorder Manage Director-Basic Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), who also heads the CECC’s illness surveillance division.
To ease the load on hospitals, Wang reported that tourists on the identical flight, or of the similar gender or family members can now continue to be in the exact same ward. 
Requested if some inbound travelers may have “bought” adverse PCR test studies ahead of departure to be allowed to vacation — which could possibly make clear the somewhat large positivity level amongst international arrivals — Wang mentioned it is doable that the vacationers took the test when the illness was nonetheless in the incubation section.
“It would be hard to validate the authenticity of the report, and consequently it is needed to administer PCR exams on their arrival,” he claimed.
As opposed to Tuesday, when some of the travellers waited up to 4 hours for PCR exam success, CECC personnel at Taoyuan airport are now ready to full the test in about 1 hour after implementing adjustments to aid tests, he additional.
The CECC yesterday described 14 new domestic circumstances of COVID-19, all but a person of which were connected to a wider outbreak of the sickness originating at Taoyuan airport.
The first scenario linked to the airport, involving a janitor, was documented on Monday previous 7 days. 
A number of other airport personnel and their loved ones members and good friends have since tested favourable for COVID-19, and the sickness has spread amid the contacts of those scenarios.
Among the the 14 domestic situations claimed yesterday, 13 can be traced back to the airport. Two are family members of formerly verified instances, 10 are employees at the Union Bank of Taiwan’s Taoyuan branch and a person is a family member of a financial institution worker.
The resource of the cluster at the lender is the relative of an airport employee who earlier examined beneficial for the disorder.
The girl visited the branch on Jiansing Highway in Jhongli District (中壢) on Dec. 30 and Tuesday past week, mentioned Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the heart.
Surveillance footage reveals that through her pay a visit to on Tuesday final week, which lasted an hour, she took off her mask although speaking on her cellphone, Chen informed a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
As a few financial institution personnel analyzed positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the bank cluster has 14 conditions.
The infected staff do the job on diverse floors at the department, and it is probable that they caught the disorder at do the job or all through a year-close evening meal on Friday, Chen claimed.
The other 17 lender employees tested detrimental, Chen claimed.
The other new domestic case is a nurse who treats COVID-19 individuals at Taipei City Hospital’s Renai department.
The lady started exhibiting signs and symptoms on Tuesday and she examined constructive the up coming working day, CECC specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) stated.
Eleven of the new domestic situations have been categorised as breakthrough instances of COVID-19, though a lady in her 20s and a boy young than 10 experienced not been vaccinated, he stated, introducing that the vaccination position of one particular circumstance was even now becoming determined.
The heart also documented a person demise, a Taiwanese guy in his 50s.
The gentleman commenced suffering from COVID-19 signs and symptoms early previous month when he was in Vietnam and he returned to Taiwan on a health-related constitution flight on Dec. 17.
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