As the Football World Cup 2022 is starting on the 20 November, Qatar is all geared with its Nation-Branding strategies and all out to flare up its most important soft power tool-Sports. The importance of Qatar in the international sphere lies in its uniqueness. The thumb-shaped spit of sand in the gulf region with a population of only 29.3 lakhs, the highest Gross Domestic Production per capita, and the third largest reserves of Liquefied Natural Gas has created a distinct mark in the regional and international politics going beyond its geographical limitation. Qatari foreign policy has been very ambitious in the last two decades and its new-found international attention has led to increased scrutiny regarding its internal policies. It has been using other soft power through various tools like Al-Jazeera Media Network, Conflict Mediation techniques, Tourism, education etc. and has strategically used sports to promote a modern image for itself. Qataris have been deliberately using sports to alter their global reputation.
Arab Gulf Region has emerged as a centre for sporting activities, especially the city of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Manama and Doha have all understood the importance of investing in high-profile international sporting events for soft power projection and to survive the post-oil economy. Since 2015 Qatar has hosted more than 500 world-class sporting events and has projected itself as a leading location for sporting clubs and training camps. The country invested 190 million dollars in 2010 to place the Qatar Foundation logo in place of the UNICEF in the European football club Barcelona’s football kit. Later replaced it with Qatar Airways logo was placed for the promotional endeavour to increase sales but it was a well-thought strategy for promoting Qatar as a football-loving nation. The Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) states and Qatar have been using various strategies to craft an image of themselves, including sports migration, pursuing higher FIFA ranking and Olympic medals. The Qatari investment in Aspire Academy and the recruitment of top-notch sporting coaches and athletes is just another example of its sports diplomacy. Qatar started its sports journey in 2006 by hosting Asian Games (much later than other gulf states like Bahrain and UAE), but emerged as a crucial competitor for others. It is really interesting to think about how a country that got its independence not even 50 years ago trying hard to reach a worldwide audience using its natural gas resources could win the bid to host the 2022 world cup.
The international scrutiny of Qataris has put strong allegations on Doha of corruption surrounding the bidding procedure of the World cup, money laundering and the inhuman treatment of the South Asian blue-collar workforce involved in the construction of sporting facilities. The Qatar government has launched several public relations responses to address these accusations time and over. It has introduced quite a few labour reforms to shun the criticism. Often characterized in international politics as a small state trying to “punch above its weight” Qataris have systematically used sports in their favour. It essentially found a strong platform to reach out to a wider audience cutting across cultural and national differences by hosting the World Cup 2022. The government has given Doha a modern luxurious image to promote tourism while competing with its neighbouring Emirate, Dubai. Qatar Airway which has access to more than 120 international airports ensures tourists and business footfall surrounding the sporting events. However, Qatar’s record in hosting IAAF World Athletics Championship shows a different picture. The Qataris could not save themselves from the embarrassment of near-empty stadiums even after the authorities distributed free tickets. The athletes dropped out of the competition due to high temperatures even the open-air conditioning and infrastructure couldn’t prevent them.
Qatar has been strategically using its news network Al-Jazeera to further its image in the sporting world. Many argue that Qatar kept its first foot in international soccer way back in 2003 with the launch of a dedicated channel for live sports. It later became a separate media house called ‘beIN Sports’ with broadcasting rights for international football in various markets. The selection of Qatar as a host of the largest football sporting event in the world raised eyebrows. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern nation with an average high temperature of 108 Fahrenheit to host the World cup. Even the timing was changed from summer to November to
The human rights organization has, strongly decried human rights violations of the South Asian, and Philipino workers who have tolled hard to build 8 new stadiums, airports, hotels, and metro in 12 years. Additionally, the Qatari government’s strict laws prohibiting homosexuality have faced severe criticism from LGBTQ+ Community. It also faced severe economic blockades in 2017 from its other gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE because of its independent foreign policy supporting organizations like Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Its strong connection with Iran and the use of the Al-Jazeera network to promote its international politics became the major bone of contention.
There is no denying the fact Qatar has successfully handled its independent international outlook and tackled the economic crisis. The withdrawal of the economic blockade in 2019 also signals that other gulf states have realized the economic impact of hosting a sporting event will extend beyond Qatar. The whooping $200 billion worth of expenditure is claimed to be part of Qatar’s national development and modernization vision. Undoubtedly expected 1 million visitors will accelerate growth in diverse economic sectors. And the small state will surely keep no stone unturned to move beyond the narrative of a small state where oil and natural gas are produced. The FIFA world cup 2020 certainly holds the potential to revive the spirit of cooperation among the Gulf states. Qatar still has been able to reap the benefits of the sporting sector while successfully creating a niche for itself by using its media, sports, academia, culture and entertainment together. While promoting sports as a diplomatic means cannot create any major geopolitical impact, sports diplomacy certainly tries to accelerate the existing shift in the international sphere. It, therefore, comes as a medium to send political messages and achieve national interest. The FIFA world cup indeed stands to be one of the most coveted events Qatar has ever been host to but only the coming will reveal if Qatar successfully strikes the right diplomatic strings while hosting the soccer game.
Dr Sreshtha Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at Manav Rachna Institute of Research and Studies. She holds PhD from the School of International Studies, JNU.