To understand the World Cup: Qatar sports diplomacy

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is here and it’s worth taking a look at what this mega sporting event means for the tiny Persian Gulf country. In this sense, it is pertinent to remember that this World Cup is the culmination of a well-defined sports diplomacy plan by the Qatari state, whose guidelines not only include the organization of this type of major sporting event, but also the promotion as an important investor in the sector. sports. This includes both the purchase of European soccer teams, through sovereign investment funds, as well as million-dollar contracts for sponsorship by Qatar Airways and the Qatar Foundation in the most important leagues in the world.

Ever since Qatar was given the coveted home of the World Cup in 2010, the world has wondered how the Qatari state has managed to extend its influence in the sport so noticeably in recent years. The answer to this question can be found in the elements that characterize Qatar as a neo-patrimonial state. This means that the line between the public coffers and the private capital of the Al Thani family is blurred, that is, the profits derived from oil and gas are invested, through sovereign wealth funds, in other sectors to diversify the country’s economy and move away little by little from its dependence on it. In this way, Qatar has reinvested millions of dollars in the sports sector through the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Sport Investment.

While the investment in international sport is driven by an internal development goal, it is also driven by an external goal: the international projection of Qatar as a dynamic business center whose familiarity and trust comes from its association with notable soccer teams. With this purpose, the Al Thani family has bought teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, with a value of 130 million dollars and an immediate injection of 350 million dollars; Málaga CF, for 36 million euros, including the debt that the club carried of 14 million euros; and they are about to become owners of 21.67% of Sporting Braga in the Portuguese league.

Likewise, Qatar Airways has already become an unmistakable icon in the most important sporting events in the world as the state company is an official sponsor of FIFA, CONMEBOL, UEFA, as well as several Formula E events and the Qatar Grand Prix of Formula 1. On the other hand, Qatar has also positioned itself as an official sponsor of a wide variety of soccer teams, among the most notable are PSG, AS Roma, Boca Juniors, FC Bayern München and KAS Eupen in Belgium.

All of this implies, on the one hand, that the clubs that are bought through this sovereign wealth fund or simply by important members of the Qatari royal family, as in the case of Málaga CF, have access to enormous economic resources since they come from the wealth that Qatar produces as a country. In turn, this allows them to abide by UEFA’s financial fair play rules, while shelling out billions of dollars in star signings such as PSG’s Messi, Mbappé and Neymar. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that, although the soccer World Cup is the biggest sports mega-event that Qatar has organized, this does not mean that it is the first. Qatar has hosted the 2006 Asian Games, the 2012 Arab Games, the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, the 2019 World Athletics Championships, and the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, among others.

Finally, as can be seen, the Qatari sports diplomacy strategy constitutes a long-term strategic plan, which seeks to position Qatar as an attractive business center, but also as a tourist destination in the midst of an area as troubled as it can be. The middle east. In this sense, it is important that we think of the World Cup in Qatar, not as an isolated event, but as the biggest challenge that Qatari sports diplomacy will face and whose success or failure will give clues to the future of Qatar as the most important sports center in the world. Arab.