DOHA, Qatar–As a small Middle Eastern country that has never made it to a tournament of the FIFA World Cup, billed as bringing the world together every four years, Qatar now finds itself hosting the prestigious event, with its opening game kicking off on Nov. 20.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will mark the first time for any country in the volatile Middle East to host the premier sports extravaganza. Even more extraordinary, the matches will be held between November and December, a historic break from the past practice of games being held between June and July.
What explains Qatar’s quest to hold this international sports event that will be watched on TV by billions of people around the world?
Qatar, which is the size of Akita Prefecture in northern Japan, has a population of only 3 million and a thriving economy based on its exports of natural gas.
Its heavy reliance on natural resources is the reason Qatar is looking towards the future.
In 2018, the country announced its Qatar National Vision 2030 to evolve into a nation capable of sustaining its development in terms of personnel, society, economy and environment.
Hosting a globally renowned sports event was seen as just the ticket to raise its long-held hopes of gaining name recognition in the international community.
Doha, the Qatari capital, pulled off a successful 2006 Asian Games, and then set out to win a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. But it was eliminated in the first round in 2008.
The International Olympic Committee set a rule limiting the Games to be held between July 15 and August. 31. The idea was to avoid having the Olympics coincide with the climax of major professional sports events in the United States and Europe.
Doha pleaded with the IOC to allow it to hold the Summer Olympics in October, not during summer, as the city’s temperatures rise to almost 50 degrees in July and August. But the IOC turned a deaf ear as around 70 percent of its revenue comes from selling broadcasting rights to major TV networks.
As it turned out, the IOC’s rejection of Qatar’s bid provided the country with a new avenue to seek global fame on the world’s sports circuit.
Hosting the Summer Games would have required Qatari officials to deal with i30 separate sports. Hosting the FIFA World Cup was rather simple in comparison: convincing the FIFA of its ability to host soccer matches.
Qatar trumped other countries when it bid in 2010 to host the World Cup after pitching its plans to introduce air conditioning systems to keep temperatures in stadiums cool and comfortable.
After considering the health of players as well as spectators, the FIFA made the decision to hold the month-long competition in winter, when temperatures in Qatar stay within 30 degrees.
In many ways, Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup is a commendable feat. But it has also drawn the country into an unflattering spotlight.
For example, there are widespread allegations of bribery in the race to win the bid. But a FIFA investigation said it did not turn up any clear evidence to support the allegation.
Still, it did point out in a report that Qatari officials offered lavish winning and dining to senior FIFA officials who would vote on the outcome of the race to award the bid. Providing business benefits through exports of natural gas from Qatar was also mentioned.
Qatar, in the meantime, has come under condemnation from an international human rights group over its alleged inhumane treatment of foreign workers, who represent about 90 percent of the nation’s population.
A 24-year-old Rwandan man who works at a hotel in Doha said reports of construction workers collapsing in the punishing heat outdoors are commonplace.
The Guardian newspaper of Britain reported last year that 6,751 laborers from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan died between 2010, when Qatar landed the bid to host the World Cup, and 2020.
But the Qatari government, according to the British Broadcasting Corp., asserts there were only three World Cup-related deaths among workers involved in the construction of stadiums between 2014 and 2020.
This discrepancy suggests there are many deaths that the Qatari government does not acknowledge as World Cup related.
The human rights group Amnesty International blasted the Qatari government in October for not opening an investigation into the thousands of foreign workers who died.
(This story was written by Kosuke Inagaki and Kenta Iijima.)
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