FIFA’s best World Cup: How did Doha become a World Cup Ready Destination? An Analysis of the First Twelve Years in Qatar
DOHA, Qatar — At the start of every World Cup tournament, the FIFA president usually says something like, “this will be the best World Cup ever.” True to form, FIFA’s leader, Gianni Infantino, said exactly that during his pre-tournament briefing at the Qatar National Convention Centre last month.
But the competition on the field was stellar. From the surprises, shocks and upsets in the group stages to the excitement of the knockout rounds – and arguably the best final ever – this World Cup has excelled.
Lionel Messi was the winner of the trophy that he had never been able to win during his lengthy career, after Argentina’s penalty kick win over the defending champion.
The furore stuck to the 2010 World Cup when Sepp Blatter opened a sealed envelope and declared the result of the voting for the 2020 tournament in Brazil.
The US government would detail how the bid was won, thanks to bribes by members of the international soccer governing body. Allegations Qatar denied.
The Persian Gulf nation experiences heat during the World Cup. There is no infrastructure or facilities. A government that was ruled by an authoritarian leader.
Qatar and FIFA officials dealt with the first two concerns – a first-ever World Cup shift to November / December for a cooler tournament; a stunning, 12-year transformation costing a reported $300 billion turned Qatar and its largest city Doha into a World Cup ready destination.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/19/1143835164/2022-world-cup-qatar
Do Qatar’s “Bud ban” and the World Cup’s greatest controversy have no place in FIFA, or is it the best soccer tournament ever?
There was a lot of concern about being welcome in a conservative autocracy, and it wasn’t resolved before the biggest stir.
Beer was to be sold at football matches in a country where alcohol is tightly controlled. The 11th hour was the “Bud ban”.
The executive director of the Fare Network said they did not expect that. “We were told by the Qatari’s that people who waved rainbow flags openly on the streets of Doha, for example, would not be approached. The Qatari’s didn’t consider it an appropriate symbol of pride in their country, but they understood [the World Cup] is a global event and they had to respect that.”
The reversal raised questions about whether host country decisions trump those of FIFA, tasked with organizing the World Cup. FIFA, says Powar, had a more liberal stance on the rainbow colors issue, but Qatar prevailed.
Abuses were well chronicled in the media, and to the very end of the tournament, rights groups called on FIFA and Qatari officials to provide compensation for the many workers who endured hardship, even death, due to their labor.
In the closing conference of his tenure, Infantino failed to commit to a compensation fund, when asked if the governing body would be sharing in the revenue from the tournament.
“We are defending human rights,” Infantino said, without explaining how that statement squared with the controversies that stuck to what he called, the best World Cup ever.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/19/1143835164/2022-world-cup-qatar
The Last Cup, Morocco: Surprises and Surprises for the Soccer Community – A Tale of Two Strangers, Two Champions and One Funnel
On the third day of the group play, there was a major surprise. One of the best World Cup upsets happened when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina. Messi is one of the finest to ever play the game and yet he has never won a World Cup. The Last Cup is a radio show about Messi’s life to get to this point. The Saudi Arabia loss was just a speedbump. Argentina won the group, swept through the knockout rounds and won the final.
Another surprise came in the middle of the tournament – before a game. Portugal coach Fernando Santos shocked the sporting world when he didn’t put star Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup for the last two Portugal matches. This World Cup wasn’t quite the same as the previous ones, but that isn’t much of an issue for the older, more well-known, than ever, Portuguese footballer,Ronaldo.
The United States makes this list too. The U.S. did not lose a game in group play after failing to qualify for the World Cup. But it would be another early exit with a round of 16 loss to the Netherlands.
Many soccer and football fans were shocked by the early exits of European powerhouses. Belgium didn’t even make it out of group play. Portugal, Spain and Germany were eliminated from the tournament. The biggest surprise of this tournament, Morocco, is covered just below.
While much has been written on Qatar’s human rights record, prohibitions of stadium beer and questionable awarding of the World Cup, once the tournament began it operated smoothly. It was easy to get around the small country, with all the stadiums within an hour of each other. Plane trips between games have been needed in the past.
Morocco, with this team and a growing pipeline, is positioned to prove Qatar wasn’t a one off. The next World Cup will be much larger than the previous ones and traditional soccer outsiders will be inspired. And emboldened to think with planning and work and ok, maybe a little magic, getting inside isn’t impossible.
As Morocco stormed through the tournament, winning its group and then notching knockout stage wins over traditional European powers Spain and Portugal, fans in Qatar wrapped in all things red and green made the term “cheering” seem way too tame. They were singing. They chanted. They whistled at the opposition – have you ever heard 50,000 people whistling? The ears still are ringing after a while.
Thirteen years ago, the Mohammed VI Football Academy was opened by Morocco. It appears that a multi- million dollar investment has paid off for the State of Qatar.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/19/1143835164/2022-world-cup-qatar
The Last World Cup Reporter Who Ever Healed or Fleered: The Case of Grant Wahl, Luka Modri and Khalid al-Misslam
Plates shifting underneath are an indication that what happened at this tourney didn’t quite take down the sport’s world order.
The refs are always called out for things like “that wasn’t a foul” and “he just flopped.” But at this World Cup referees made news for another reason. Women officials were used at the tournament for the first time. Women from the U.S., Germany, Scotland, and France were part of the six that officiated on and off the field. An all-female crew was in charge of the Germany/Costa Rica match.
It may be the last World Cup we see Messi wearing an Argentina uniform or Ronaldo donning one for Portugal or Luka Modrić sporting the red and white checkerboard for Croatia. For decades they each have shined for their countries at many, many tournaments and given countless fans joy (and sometimes heartbreak).
We also say goodbye to the three journalists who died while covering this World Cup. Grant Wahl, a United States soccer reporter, collapsed during the Argentina-Netherlands quarterfinal. An autopsy determined he died of an aortic aneurysm (a burst blood vessel). ITV sports director Roger Pearce “passed away suddenly” last month and Qatari photojournalist with Al Kass TV, Khalid al-Misslam, “died suddenly” earlier this month.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/19/1143835164/2022-world-cup-qatar
Boxing Day soccer: selling you stuff – how you spend your money on soccer supplies: the case of the UK, Mexico, and Canada
The stage is set for 2026 when the U.S. will co-host the next World Cup along with Mexico and Canada. As mentioned earlier, FIFA is expanding the number of teams from 32 to 48. It’s not clear yet how the tournament will be organized or the format used to advance.
One thing is clear – it will be hard to top the 2022 tournament. The 2026 World Cup will be the best ever, and we think that will happen in four years.
The league was absolutely clear. It was not a bluff. It wasn’t a card to play or a chip for barter nor a point to haggle. It was not, and this cannot be stressed enough, on the table. The rest of Europe made way for the World Cup by rearranging their tournaments, and the English league had to play on Boxing Day.
That stance must have seemed a little absurd to the rest of the executives present in the summit in Doha in 2015, when most of the world’s top soccer clubs and leagues learned that the World Cup would be moved to the winter. None of the leagues were happy.
There were some reasons for that stance. If you look at the way in which England describes the busy festive period, you can see how important it is for the television rights sales of the Premier League. Like most traditions, Boxing Day soccer is really about selling you stuff.