Fans at next year’s World Cup in Qatar will not be allowed in stadiums unless they have been vaccinated against coronavirus.

The Middle East state is trying to source a million doses to give to supporters who have not had the jab in their home country.

“When the date of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 comes, most countries of the world will have vaccinated and immunised their citizens,” the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, told state media on Sunday.

“Due to the possibility that some countries will not be able to vaccinate all their citizens, Qatar will not allow fans to enter stadiums without receiving a full vaccination against the virus.”

The sheikh said the country was currently negotiating with a company to obtain the doses and said the goal was “to protect the public health of citizens and residents”.

Football’s world governing body has so far not commented on the development.

Qatar has only reported 585 deaths and 220,9800 cases through the pandemic.

The tournament will kick off on 21 November 2022 to try to avoid the harsh Middle East summer weather.

The build-up has been dogged by concerns over the human rights and health and safety of the migrant workers, who have been building eight new stadiums in the country.

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