Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022:
Europe’s Envy, Arab’s Pride
Any achievement made by Arab countries always raises the eyebrows of the world, which thinks that they are states under third world classification. This is particularly in the case of a world event waited by all from east to west and north to south every four years.
For many years, the World Cup has been an economic event as much as it was a sporting occasion. It is a major event which attracts the world of business and finance.
Perhaps the world associates us with stories of backwardness, repetitive and useless conflicts. Many attach superiority to the people who are like us. This is because no matter how much we dream of making achievements, we remain dependent in one way or the other on global agendas which do not make us masters of our decisions.
The Middle East was known to be a region of conflicts in general. Therefore, the first attempt by an Arab country to get the opportunity to organise the World Cup was met with a scathing attack and rejection.
The Arab world is not accustomed to organising global events. Therefore, it is natural that the host country, all the details of its work and its efforts to gain experience, is getting attention. It is natural there would not be anything exemplary, without a mistake. We, as Arab peoples, believe that if the event was to be hosted in a non-Arab country, it would not have caused an uproar or bad publicity.
[by Wafa Alloush in TRT Arabi]
The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is different from the previous editions in the date and place of its launch, and the questions and doubts which surrounded it.
The 2022 World Cup is certainly full of surprises and continuous controversy. This started since Doha won the honour of hosting the tournament in 2010. It continued till the start of the official opening ceremony for the global festival. A thorny road, enmities, confusion, and pressures dominated this long and arduous path taken by the Gulf state for organising this global championship event.
The controversy of the Qatari World Cup did not stop at the limits of the right to host. The climate and other obstacles also could dispel Doha’s hope that it would be the promised land for the world championships. Also, it was a setback for the Gulf state on the issue of human rights.
The Qatar World Cup is exceptional and controversial at the same time. All evidence suggests the hosts mastered “negative spending,” according to the specialists and experts. They estimated the amount of money pumped by Qatar, which is about US dollar 220 billion, to earn only US dollar 20 billion.
Qatar is now waiting for the zero hour to dazzle the world. This is what all those in charge of the global festival are waiting for. Any Arab who loves the popular game and wants to host it is jealous. It is also proud that Doha’s hosting of this event will be a key for the rest of the Gulf countries to also want to try their luck in hosting other upcoming tournaments.
[by Al-Habib Mebarki in Al-Arab, London]