Is holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar good or bad for Qatar?
As most of us know the FIFA World Cup is a worldwide competition that happens every 4 years since its inaugural tournament in 1930. However,the competition did not take place in 1942 and 1946, a time when many nations were at war in the World War II(Molinaro, 2009). Competition to host these events is normally fierce, as taking the FIFA World Cup to a country spurs enormous economic gains through tourism, trade, broadcasting, foreign exchange, logistics etc., and is also a basis of great prestige for current government. Countries that given the opportunity to host world cup by FIFA () must portray the ability to control huge human and vehicle traffic. This mean that the country should have sufficient infrastructure, which include world class roads, hotels, and sufficient power supply among many others.
In what came as a surprise to many, Qatar was appointed through rigorous bidding process, to host FIFA World Cup in 2022. This made Qatar the first Arabic country from the gulf to be given the honor of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, as announced on 2nd of December 2010 at Zurich. Considering the previous experiences where world cup has been in some of the developed nations such as United States, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England, and Switzerland, many questioning the decision to hold world cup in Qatar (Molinaro, 2009). It is not surprising that some people in the world don’t know anything about Qatar ranging from its location, tourist sites, cities, language, and religion among other unique things. The opportunity to hold World Cup in Qatar comes with hefty benefits to the country itself.
Hosting world cup will significantly boost the economy of the country (Gnawi, 2010). Tourism for example, is one of the main advantages of hosting this huge international competition in which a great number of tourist will visit the country in the bid to attend the world cup events. This will mean that the transportation sector will be busy moving tourist from one destination to another. The hotel industry will be in its full capacity, providing food and accommodation to the foreigners. Food processing companies will enjoys the increased demand for their products. Food supplies such as farmers will sell their products to these industries in bulk as they avoid any shortfall in their supply. The clothing suppliers and cottage industries will sell their unique products to both local and international tourist. Meanwhile, this will have a positive influence economically even though hosting this huge event will cost huge amounts of money to build FIFA standard football courts, adequate housing and super highways. The entertainment industry will also benefit greatly through having a platform where they can show their talent to the world. Musicians and comedians from the country will also be given an opportunity to present during the world cup luncheon. This rare opportunity will make them sale their talents to the world and as a result gain substantial resources to develop themselves.
Publicity by international media will significantly boost Qatar’s economy. Influential television station CNN, BBC, and CCTV among others will capture preparations and the competition in a way that will promote Qatar’s relationship with other countries. Some television stations will probably make documentary to shows various development programs in Qatar and as a result this may attract many international investors. Also, friendly reception, generosity of the Qatar people, and their peaceful nature will probably change the way many people sees Qatar.
The preparation of the event itself comes with other benefits to the country. During the preparation for the World Cup 2022, there will be increased job opportunity for the people of Qatar. It has been estimated that Qatar will gain approximately 8 billion QR as a profit for hosting World Cup in 2022 (Maher,2016). This will go down in books of history as the largest economical event that ever happened in Qatar. The construction industry will be offering jobs to a greater population. This will in turn improve the living standards of the people. The airline industry will provide employment opportunities,in order to be able to adequately serve the tourists and locals who will consider Qatar air travel companies as an option.
Currently, some activities are underway. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has been established to monitor companies that are responsible for various projects. There first assignment is monitoring the Railway Company that will ensure Metros all stationed all around Qatar for faster transportation and quick maneuver of human traffic to reducing the crowds on the roads in a ratio that effectively manages the big amounts of people coming to cheer and attend the World Cup. The Qatar Olympic Committee has also started building 10 stadiums and new facilities in that will significantly encourage the young generations to participate in football and others sports (Maher, 2016). Other sport will also benefit from the stadiums that will be used to host various competitions. This stadium will also be used for other sports such as hockey, rugby, and cricket. On the other hand, other sectors such as hotel industry have started preparing themselves by extending their facilities and building new hotels that can accommodate large number of tourist.
Nevertheless, this will be a big event in Qatar’s history and the gulf world. Actually, it will be an event to remember and a story to tell to our children and grandchildren when we get older. As a result of great interest in sports, hosting the World Cup will be a big boost towards the future of football and other sports in Qatar. It will encourage the majority and more sore the young generation in Qatar to participate in this sports. World Cup will also encourage many to invest in their own country because there will be strong financial institutions after the world cup.
References
Maher, M. (2016). Achieving world impressed by fast accomplishment a project for Qatar World Cup projects. Retrieved from: https://www.goal.com/ar-sa/news/3020/main/2016/11/19/29675922/تحقيق-العالم-منبهر-بسرعة-تنفيذ-قطر-لمشاريع-مونديال-2022