The 2022 World Cup is about to begin in Qatar, the first ever World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but also one of the most controversial. Corruption scandals have dominated the news, and labor deaths and injuries have attracted international attention. Why is it so important for Qatar to host the World Cup? And why is it so controversial? We take a look at the country of Qatar and talk about the World Cup on stage and behind the scenes.
Qatar is a small country on the Persian Gulf that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971 and is ruled by a monarchy with the Al-Thani family as its supreme leader, the Amir. Qatar is a rich country, with a major economy based on oil and gas, and a GDP per capita of $61,276 in 2021, one of the highest in the world.
In October 2022, the population of Qatar will have just passed the 3 million mark, which is less than the current population of any World Cup host country in history. In fact, the current population of 3 million is the result of rapid growth. In 1971, when the country gained independence from Britain, there were only 120,000 people, and in 2000 there were still only 590,000 people. In the last 20 years or so, the population of Kadah has exploded, mainly due to
Mass naturalization of migrant workers
Currently, the demographic structure of Katha is very special, as nearly 90% of the population are migrant workers, including 700,000 Indian migrants and 400,000 Nepalese and Bengali migrants, which are more numerous than the Katha people. It is against this background that the problem of migrant labor arising from the World Cup construction project has arisen.
A large number of migrant workers have been involved in large-scale construction, which has revolutionized the urban landscape of Kadar. Duha, the capital city of Kardah, has developed rapidly and is now a metropolis of skyscrapers, while the Pearl of Kardah, an artificial island, has been built. The preparations for the World Cup have also seen a great deal of construction, with many new venues and transportation facilities being built.
Why is the World Cup so important to Qatar? This question can be better answered by understanding the development strategy of this small country towards the international arena.
When Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's predecessor, came to power in 1995, he gradually expanded Qatar's regional and international influence. For example, Al Jazeera was launched in 1996. Al Jazeera gained notoriety after the 9/11 attacks in the United States when it was the first to show videos of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Today, Al Jazeera has become an influential media outlet in the Arab world. In addition, Al Qaeda has often created an international profile through humanitarian aid, such as providing supplies and reconstruction funds for refugees in response to the Syrian civil war and the Israeli attack on the Gaza Corridor.
Diplomatically, the small country of Qada has a flexible foreign policy and often negotiates with various groups. Interestingly, the United States and Iran, two countries that are at odds with each other, both have strong ties with Qatar. Qatar's military ties with the U.S. are very strong, with the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East located in Qatar. Qatar's relations with Iran are equally good, with Iran's strength against Saudi Arabia on the one hand, and the joint development of the world's largest natural gas field, which straddles the territory of both countries, on the other. On the international stage, Qada often acts as a mediator, for example between the United States and the Taliban, whose peace talks with the United States in 2014 were held in Qadadah Doha.
Indeed, Qada's position in the Persian Gulf region is under pressure, especially because of chronic tensions with the major power, Saudi Arabia. The most recent notable incident was the Qada diplomatic crisis of 2017, when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Arab League, Bahrain, and Yemen declared a break in diplomatic relations, blocked air and sea lanes, and blocked Al Jazeera, citing Qada's support for terrorist organizations. Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was a trigger for this. In short, Al Qaeda has a strong international presence through its dealings with various political organizations, but it has also come under considerable diplomatic pressure in the region.
On the economic front, Qatar intends to change its current rather homogenous economic sources, and the Qatar National Vision 2030 report published by the Government of Qatar in 2008 refers to appropriate economic diversification.
Gradually reduce the dependence of the Qatari economy on oil and gas.
Tourism is one of the main areas of development. Tourism is one of the main areas of development and the World Cup is an excellent opportunity to promote tourism in Katha.
Next, we continue to show how Kadar has been able to contribute to the country's diplomatic and economic development through international sporting events.
In recent years, Kada has been known for
Vast investment in European soccer's giants
In 2010, the Qatar Foundation became the sponsor of Barcelona shirts, and from 2013-2017, Qatar Airways took over as the first commercial sponsor of Barcelona shirts. 2012 saw the Qatar Sovereign Foundation buy outright the French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. 2017 saw Paris Saint-Germain brought in a staggering €222 million for Brazilian star
Neymar
The highest in soccer history.
transfer to another club (professional sports)
fee. in 2018, the team went for another 180 million euros for the
transfer to another club (professional sports)
fee to bring in Mbappe. These two
transfer to another club (professional sports)
investment, which is still the highest and second highest ever recorded.
