Well, to understand why Qatar was desperate to host the FIFA World Cup, we need to understand Qatar’s economy, its relationship history with other Arab nations, and its approach to global business. There were no football teams in Qatar, and the country had no plans to introduce the game to its citizens. Qatar also had no interest in promoting football as a spectator sport. It was never about anything other than the economy, business, and expansion. In those days, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa was a foresightful leader, which is why he devoted the majority of that decade to organizing sporting competitions.
Also, read – Controversial FIFA World Cup Bid By Qatar
Why Qatar was desperate to Host FIFA world cup
The requirement for Qatar to submit a bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 will need to be understood from a historical standpoint. Economy, connections with Arab nations, and the attitude taken by the Thani family are some of the topics that we have covered in previous blogs that we have published. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s speak about these topics from the perspective of putting on an event for the FIFA World Cup.
Qatar’s Economy
The decade of the 1970s saw an increase in both Qatar’s oil output and its level of commercial activity with western nations; this coincided with the beginning of an era of fast economic expansion in Qatar. Despite this, the Thani family quickly came to the conclusion that OIL was not going to be there. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was widely believed that OIL production in Qatar will cease in the year 2023. Nevertheless, taking into account the circumstances of the present day and making use of the available technology, they still have some further time with it.
In addition, Qatar was fortunate enough to find the reserves in the form of gas, which appears to be a resource that will never run out for Qatar. Qatar has an edge over other nations that offer gas because its infrastructure for producing and selling gas is in much better form than the infrastructure of other countries that provide gas.
Even after having access to a large quantity of gas, Qatar’s former Emir never meant for the country to be reliant on a limited number of sources of money. In his devotion to globalization, he has never shown the slightest sign of wavering. Nevertheless, earning the confidence of western culture was a challenging endeavor to undertake for the purpose of an Islamic state’s economy.
Relationship with nations located in the middle east
Relationships between Qatar and other important middle eastern nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have not always produced fruitful results in the past. This is something that we have previously read. They have had problems with their ideology. It is quite conceivable that Qatar is the only country in the world with a unique viewpoint about some aspects of Islamic politics. Things that are already in the spotlight include Al Jazeera pushing an agenda against Saudi Arabia, Qatar providing financial assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood organization, and other similar issues.
Even though Qatar was dependent on its neighbors in a wide variety of industries, the availability of dairy products for day-to-day use was the subject that was brought up in conversation the most. Because of the sanctions that were imposed on Qatar by the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2017, all business activity between the two countries came to a complete standstill. (The punishments have been covered in greater detail in other chapters.) The populace of Qatar could not be adequately satisfied with the number of dairy products that were available to them. As a direct consequence of this, Qatar was able to swiftly create a dairy infrastructure within days by utilizing the income it had acquired from the sale of gas and oil. It immediately imported bullocks and cows in order to cope with the crisis as quickly as possible.
The previous rulers of Qatar were aware of the likelihood that a situation similar to this one will occur at some point in the future, and as a result, they took the necessary precautions. They desired to remove their dependency on the Arab nations that were located in close proximity to them. To achieve this objective, it was important to engage in trade with economies of other countries. When they talk about trade, they are not simply talking to the sale of oil and gas by themselves when they make this statement. They had a strong desire for Qatar to get involved in commercial exchanges with economies located all over the world, with the purpose of both importing and exporting commodities.
Infrastructure development
This subject is practically never discussed on any forum, despite the fact that a number of nations are contemplating the possibilities for money that might be generated through infrastructure finance. It has been asserted that the World Cup competition that is held once every four years is the most significant event that takes place at this time. When events of this nature take place, affluent individuals from all over the world spend their money on travel, hotel, food, and a broad range of other products, all of which contribute to the overall expansion of the economy.
As a result of the preparations for the FIFA World Cup, Qatar now possesses an infrastructure that the country would not have been able to build otherwise.
At this point in time, Qatar is in a position to plan activities that can accommodate such a large number of participants. When we visit Dubai, we note that during the whole year, the city plays home to events on not just a national and international level, but also on a level that involves all three countries. Countries who are unable to conduct their own events in their own countries and instead rely on Dubai’s infrastructure to host those events are referred to as “3rd country events.” There are several examples of sports and non-sporting events that are held in Dubai by other countries. These events can take place anywhere in Dubai.
The former Emir of Qatar had the concept to develop the country’s infrastructure, and they were aware that hosting the FIFA World Cup would set them on the correct track. Nowadays, Qatar is home to a metro, tram, and other kinds of public road transit that have all been skilfully created.
Conclusion
Hamad bin Khalifa was well aware that it would be vital for the country to demonstrate to the western world its goals of globalization and acquaint them with Qatar, its economy, its land, and its people. This was something that Hamad ibn Khalifa was well aware of. In addition, prior Emirs were aware that they would eventually be required to eliminate their dependence on nations that surrounded them because the relationship with these countries was always unstable.
They concentrated, rather appropriately, on athletic events throughout that decade. In 2006, Doha, Qatar played home to the 15th Asian Games, and in the years that followed, Qatar played host to many other national and international competitions. Hamad bin Khalifa was well aware of the fact that the single most efficient approach to grab the attention of the rest of the world is to host athletic events. Not only that, but people go there to watch sports, and millions more watch it at home and discuss it. If the event can accommodate a huge number of people, the nation that is playing host to the event will find itself in the public eye very quickly.
What other athletic event even comes close to being able to match the capacity of the FIFA World Cup? People like watching this event all across the world, especially in countries where football is not a popular sport. There is not going to be a single country on the face of the earth that will not take pleasure in watching the FIFA World Cup tournament. The developed nations, in particular, are focusing all of their attention on this event. The FIFA Globe Cup is the single finest opportunity for any nation to display to the rest of the world its culture, hospitality, economy, and many other characteristics. The more visitors there are from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Serbia, India, Brazil, or any other nation, the more familiar they will get with the people of Qatar and the culture of Qatar. The western world will have more confidence in engaging in business with Qatar as a result of this. Because of this, in the long run, there will be a greater number of investments pouring into Qatar. In spite of this, Qatar has already achieved its goal of obtaining the trust of the major economies of the world up to this point.
