Keir Radnedge
Qatar up next
Be prepared! The coming months and years will see a renewal of hostilities over the staging of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar; hostilities which were put on ice as Russia 2018 commanded wall-to-wall media space.
However, the coming firestorm will no longer concern constructionworkers’ conditions, date switches and how the Qataris won the hosting rights back in December 2010.
All of these are old themes, with the International Labour Organisation accepting progress which would have been impossible without World Cup leverage, while the winter staging is now generally accepted.
As for the awarding of hosting rights, even long-time critics agree that, with little more than four years to go, it is now too late to change. The legal costs alone would be astronomical, never mind the work already undertaken. In addition, FIFA’s recent award to the United States, in partnership with Canada and Mexico, of the expanded 2026 World Cup tournament has defused any lingering issues of hosting envy.
However, the one headlining challenge every host nation must suffer is the over-the-top, critical media attention that can border on paranoia. Here Qatar remains vulnerable on three other fronts.
Firstly, the availability of accommodation is an issue. Russia, for example, welcomed more than one million fans to its World Cup this summer. And that was fine in a vast country which spread the matches across 11 cities. But Qatar has just one city, Doha.
Secondly, Qatar’s own national team remain uncompetitive on the grand stage. Few European teams have featured in their schedule of friendly matches and they have never come close to the World Cup finals, so their performances at next year’s Asian Cup and Copa America will come under heavy scrutiny.
Thirdly, and most importantly, Qatar is subject to an economic and political boycott led by neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They are demanding – among a host of issues – that Qatar cut diplomatic ties with Iran and shut down the broadcaster Al Jazeera.
Supporting action has seen the emergence of a Saudi-based pirate satellite broadcaster beoutQ which has not only undercut beIN’s World Cup coverage but also the UEFA Champions League and other major sports events. If allowed to continue this threatens the entire financial foundation of world sport.
More obvious in the western-media landscape has been the launch of a virulent anti-Qatar campaign of press releases and critical “planted” stories. The campaign began shortly before the World Cup in Russia and is now being ramped up.
This is not to suggest that the latest anti-Qatar splurge in The Sunday
Times was planted. However, it was not only flimsy but based, apparently, on the claims of a PR company justifying its – doubtless million-dollar – promotional contract with the Qatar 2022 bid organisers.
Whether or not there is more to come from this source, more is certainly on its way in terms of anti-Qatar headlines. Short of military intervention it is hard to see the Qataris giving up the finals. After all, they will have noted Russia’s incalculable PR benefit from 2018.
All the marketing agencies in the world could not have delivered the feel-good factor about Russia promoted around the planet by this summer’s World Cup.
This, by the way, is one reason why so many countries are already queuing to bid for 2030 and even 2034.
Whatever the state of FIFA, the World Cup is in a class of its own, even beyond the Olympic Games.
The one challenge every host nation must suffer is over-the-top media attention that can border on paranoia