Qatar World Cup organizers have made another surprise last minute U-turn this time advising locals that the best way for them to get to stadiums is to drive - despite promising that the tournament would be the greenest ever.

After the unexpected controversial ban on beer sales around stadiums, organizers have caught out football supporters again by advising Qataris that they should forget about public transport and travel to matches in their cars because ‘there is ample free parking in stadiums.’

Prior to the tournament kicking off organizers had promised that Qatar 2022 would be the most sustainable in World Cup history and that carbon emissions would be severely limited thanks to a state-of-the-art public transport system.

Announcing its directive to buck the global trend for ditching the car, Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee said: ‘People who live in Qatar and have access to a car should drive to matches. There is ample free parking within walking distance of all eight stadiums. Local residents are encouraged to drive in order to free up capacity on the Doha Metro and other public transport services for visitors.’

The directive goes on to provide detailed information for drivers on how they can get to each of the World Cup’s eight stadiums and where they can park.

Referring to the Khalifa International Stadium where England kick off their World Cup campaign against Iran on Monday it states: ‘Parking space is located close to the stadium. These car parks will open 4 hours before kick-off and close 1.5 hours after the final whistle. Accessible parking options will be available.