Qatar won the bid to host the FIFA 2022 football tournament. The underdog that emerged and took the world by surprise will prove to be the best choice made by the FIFA members.
Qatar is a small island with a tiny population of something around 1.6 million. Having said that, the small geography and population does not limit Qatar’s capacity to host an event of such magnitude whilst making it a success. It is the resolve of Qatar and the Arab world that will see it as a grand success.
The major challenges of hosting an event of such magnitude are generally worries about financial resources, leadership and the support of countrymen. Luckily for them, these are the three aspects Qatar stands strong on.
Finance: Qatar has committed over $100 billion for the event, including infrastructure build up.
Leadership: The FIFA 2022 delegation to Switzerland was led by the Amir His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the head of Qatar himself that speaks volumes about their commitment. His son is the President of the FIFA 2022 committee.
People: The population may be small but the people of Qatar are absolute football enthusiasts and would see to it that every endeavour to host the event is a success and that no obstruction crosses its roadmap.
Sustainable technology: Qatar has committed to making this event the most sustainable one yet. The event is likely to become a benchmark for the implementation of sustainable technologies and also a test to prove that these could in fact work at such magnitude. This will be ‘the’ showpiece for sustainability, thus, attracting support from global bodies and corporates working on such technologies.
Arab world support: The event will have the support of the Arab world with a population of over 370 million thus raising the perception and image of the Arab world.
Image: FIFA 2022 will raise the standards of other events held in the Arab world.
Improved relations: The event will better the relations of the Arab world with global economies and help us connect better.
Cross cultural leadership exchange: It will be a great exercise to be able to borrow the best brains from past events, such as, 2010 FIFA and the Beijing Olympics to ensure success through appropriately addressed facilities for sports, administration, hospitality, delivery and security.
Open policies: Qatar will have to adopt more open policies and also collaborate and cooperate with neighbours and participating countries to minimise risk.
Post event effects: Qatar has to prepare for post event effects and explore how the experience and infrastructure will be utilised to ensure benefit long term.
Twitter is agog with fears of Qatar being unable to host the event. Fears ranges from getting the right infrastructure to security. The existence of Qatar itself will be laid out to rest of the world when FIFA 2022 opens up with Doha giving it a dazzling start. After all, David conquered Goliath not because of his size but with his absolute resolve to succeed – KhaleejTimes
