World Cup of FIFA hosts Qatar can afford to dream large since it is wealthy. Sport has emerged as the ideal means of achieving the little Gulf state's goal to become a major force in the Arabian Peninsula.
Qatar has been on a protracted, expensive road to realize the ambition of bringing football's largest global gathering to the Middle East since 2010 when the country won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The realization of perhaps the most audacious move by a nation that had never qualified for the World Cup and had little sporting history but still defeated rival bids from the United States of America (USA), Australia, South Korea, and Japan would occur when the Qatari national team plays Ecuador in the opening match of the World Cup next month.
The tiny nation of Qatar, home to less than two million people, has spent heavily in recent years to bring attention to itself. The 2018 event is expected to set a record for spending, raising the standard so high that few countries would be able to match it when bidding to host future World Cup competitions.
The World Cup taking place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18 aims to be unlike any other, according to FIFA and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. Due to the near proximity of the sites, it will be a condensed tournament that enables spectators to see two distinct matches on the same day.
Significant expense
More money than Qatar spent on hosting the previous five competitions combined, according to estimates, was spent on the competition. Officials from Qatar have, however, provided a range of costs for the stadiums and the infrastructural improvements made in the years before the tournament.
Seven brand-new stadiums would cost an estimated $6.5 billion to $10 billion to build, which is a huge rise over the previous bid's $4 billion estimate. Another stadium would also require a significant renovation.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil had a $15 billion budget, surpassing the previous record-holder South Africa's $3.6 billion expenditure to bring the championship to Africa for the first time.
Nasser Al-Khater, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, declined to disclose the whole cost of hosting the championship during a recent media conference but claimed that the future competition was comparable to the costs of the previous three World Cup competitions. This includes the price of non-World Cup-related infrastructure, which is a component of the larger Qatar 2030 proposal to create an innovation hub with lodging, high-tech subterranean transit, airports, and athletic facilities.
He said that Qatar was utilizing the World Cup as a spur for the improvement of its infrastructure.
Financial boost
Even if the Qatari government estimates a $20 billion economic boost from hosting the most renowned football tournament in the world, the majority of that growth will come from spinoffs and not necessarily from the anticipated one million tourists who are expected during the World Cup.
The Qatari government aims to utilize the World Cup to promote the nation as a contemporary, culturally diversified, business-friendly, and a destination for sports tourism, while competitor metropolis Dubai is quickly becoming a refuge for tourists.
With the 2022 World Cup and other upcoming events laying the foundation for their ambitious Olympic dream—also the first in the Arab world—Mr. Al-Khater further revealed a lofty long-term aim to organize the world's largest multi-sport event.
On September 8, the day before the Lusail Super Cup match at the Lusail Stadium, he stated, "We have ambitions for the Olympic Games in the years to come. We are bidding for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup competition.
Olympics are the target
It has taken close to 20 years for Qatar's aspiration to be a major force in international sports to come true. In order to serve as a hub for talent development with top-notch facilities for high-performance sports and an advanced centre for sports medicine where some of the world's best athletes recover from injuries, the legendary Aspire Academy, reported to have cost $1 billion, was constructed in Doha in 2004.
Over the previous ten years, Qatar has hosted more than 600 regional and international sporting tournaments, many of which have aided in the nation's FIFA World Cup preparations.
It was also noticeable in European football. In 2010, Qatar Airways paid $163 million to sponsor FC Barcelona's uniform, and the Qatari Travel Authority made direct investments in Paris Saint-Germain totaling more than $1.08 billion.