Qatar’s vast wealth helps it host FIFA World Cup 2022
Updated at 08:26 on 20 Jun 2014
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Qatar is hoping to become the first Middle East country to host a major football tournament, after an extraordinary deal that helps to ensure it will get the funds it needs to build the stadiums.
And it is the biggest sporting coup to come out of Doha since the 2022 tournament on the same year, where the Gulf state is bidding to host the tournament for the first time, along with a host of other competitions, including the Commonwealth and the Youth Olympics.
Qatar’s government has been eager to bring the tournament to the region for some time now, with the aim to build bigger, better and more glamorous stadia. It has spent millions of dollars on planning ahead for the world’s first multi-sport event in the desert country.
It is also hoping that the 2022 tournament will act as a huge boost to Doha’s economy, where international investors are beginning to flock to the Gulf State with a view to betting on the 2022 tournament, which will cost more than a billion dollars.
The Qatar 2022 bid is expected to feature a high profile sporting event, which will help to lure Qatar’s economy and to boost Doha’s tourism sector.
The bid by Qatar is also expected to provide an excellent backdrop for a tournament that takes place in the winter, when the temperature is usually a lot lower than in summer. This season, the temperatures in Qatar reached a record high of 28 degrees Celsius.
The Qatar 2022 bid has already cost some $5.8 billion, and by the time the 2022 tournament gets under way next July it is likely to cost around $11 billion.
Even with the bid costing millions, Qatar wants to make sure the 2022 tournament is a success and that it has an economic boost for the country as well as the region.
This is a big deal for Qatar.