On-pitch thrills help Qatar confound World Cup doubters

When the final whistle blew, confirming Saudi Arabia’s shock victory over Argentina on day three of the World Cup in Qatar, organisers of the most scrutinised sporting mega-event in history got what they had been hoping for: a new talking point.

The 12-year run-up to the competition had been dominated by questions about corruption allegations, working conditions for migrant labourers, LGBT+ rights, alcohol policy and the logic of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in a tiny desert kingdom.

When the tournament began nearly a month ago, the focus was on the wearing of rainbow armbands, unfinished accommodation, disappearing digital tickets and a last-minute ban on beer sales at stadiums. Many of those arriving in Qatar came with low expectations.

Yet, quickly, the action on the pitch itself began to take over. Saudi Arabia’s win was followed by further surprises, alongside moments of brilliance, while fans settled in to the rhythm of Doha and the cosmopolitan buzz that came from playing a World Cup in a single city.

“I was so nervous before the opening game, worried sick that anything — no matter how minimal — would be jumped on by the media,” said Abdulla al-Darwish, a Qatari working in finance. “But I calmed down after kick off.”

The tournament has provided memorable storylines, from Morocco becoming the first team from Africa to reach the semi-final to Cristiano Ronaldo scoring at a fifth World Cup, the first man to do so.

Sunday’s final also promises a grand ending, pitting the biggest stars of the game against each other in Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé of France. The two also happen to be club mates at Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain.

The Qatari organisers have been pleased with how the World Cup has unfolded. Doha’s transport systems, including a 37-station metro and fleet of 4,000 buses, was able to cope with the huge influx of visitors. More than 3.2mn people attended matches at Qatar 2022, with games largely passing off without incident in terms of fan safety.

“Qatar feels they’ve pulled it off,” said one adviser to the government in Doha. “They’ve proved the doubters wrong and done the region proud. It’s been great for ‘brand Qatar’.”

The tournament not only showcased Qatar, but fast-tracked the country’s infrastructure push, part of a broader plan to diversify its economy away from the hydrocarbons that fuel its great wealth.

You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.

Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia university, said the $200bn spent to host the tournament had brought “branding and name recognition that’s worth it to the Qataris”. “And they did it alone, without regional help, in a tiny country. It’s remarkable,” she said.

Gianni Infantino, president of world football’s governing body Fifa, on Friday labelled the tournament the “best ever”, claiming it had helped bridge the cultural divide between the Middle East and the rest of the world.

“For me, the World Cup has been a really incredible success on all fronts,” he said at a press conference ahead of the final.

Commercially, the tournament has delivered for Fifa and its 211 members. Revenue from the current four-year cycle reached $7.5bn, up from $6.4bn in the same period ahead of the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

That rapid growth looks set to continue. Infantino gave initial projections of $11bn for 2026, when the tournament will be staged in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Some football luminaries and longtime World Cup goers have been glowing in their reviews of their time in Qatar. David Dein, former vice-chair of Arsenal football club, said it had been a “very successful tournament”.

“The Qataris deserve credit for the way they’ve handled it,” he told reporters over breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. “They’ve done a good job.”

The event has not been without issues. Some Iranian fans were harassed during a game for protesting against the Tehran regime, Moroccan fans faced heavy-handed policing outside their quarter-final match, while supporters attempting to wear clothes featuring the LGBT+ rainbow symbol were barred from entering stadiums, contrary to guidance from Fifa.

A corruption scandal at the European parliament, where four people have been charged amid claims that Qatar sought to buy influence, suggests that controversies could bedevil the country long after the final whistle on Sunday. Doha described claims of its involvement as “baseless”.

Questions over legacy are also likely to linger. Qatar built seven of the eight match venues specifically for the tournament, including the 90,000-capacity Lusail Stadium.

With little local need for such infrastructure, details on what will happen to them after the tournament remains vague. Stadium 974, billed as the first temporary stadium to grace a World Cup, is due to be packed up and shipped off to a new home, but its end destination has yet to be revealed.

Fan groups have been guarded in their World Cup assessments. Ronan Evain, head of Football Supporters Europe, said that regarding safety, transport and accommodation, Qatar 2022 had been “much better than expected”.

However, communication from the organisers had been poor, he said, while the high costs of both accommodation and tickets meant that those without deep pockets had been left with little to do between matches in a city with limited attractions.

“For fans who stayed in expensive hotels, I can see it’s been a nice experience,” Evain said. “But for those who travelled on a budget, it’s been a long and boring stay in Qatar.”