Qatar got the World Cup they wanted

DOHA, Qatar – In the end, Qatar got what it wanted.

This tiny desert state, a peninsula shaped like a thumb, wanted nothing more than to be better known, to be a player on the world stage, when in 2009 it launched what seemed like an unlikely bid to host the men’s soccer World Cup, the Sport event most popular on earth.

Organize the tournament has side stand more than you can imagine: in money, in time, in lives.

But Sunday night, as fireworks filled the Lusail sky, as Argentinian fans sang and their star, Lionel Messihe smiled hugging a trophy he had been waiting a lifetime to touch, All the world knew Qatar.

The spectacular result: a dream final between Argentina and France; the first world title for Messi, the best player in the world; a vibrant game resolved after six goals and a penalty – that has been shown.

And as if to make sure of that, to give the nation’s final mark at the first World Cup in the Middle East, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, stopped a beaming Messi on his way to pick up the most great sport trophy and collected it.

There was one more thing to do.

He took out a golden bish fringed, black cape worn in the Gulf on special occasions, and draped it over Messi’s shoulders before handing him the 18-karat gold trophy.

The celebration capped a tumultuous decade for a tournament marred by a corruption scandal, marred by allegations of human rights abuses and the deaths and injuries suffered by migrant workers hired to build the $200,000 World Cup in Qatar. controversial decisions in all areas, from alcohol to the bracelets.

Yet for a month Qatar was the center of the world, achieving a feat that none of its neighbors in the Arab world has achieved, a feat that has sometimes seemed unthinkable in the years since the former FIFA president, Sepp Blattermade the stunning announcement in a Zurich conference room on December 2, 2010 that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup.

The sport is unlikely to see such an unlikely host again any time soon.

Qatar was perhaps one of the most not appropriate for a tournament the size of the World Cup, a country so devoid of stadiums, infrastructure and history that its bid was described as “high risk” by FIFA’s own evaluators.

However, he took advantage of the one asset he had left: money.

Backed by seemingly inexhaustible financial resources to fuel its ambitions, Qatar embarked on a project that required nothing less than the construction, or reconstruction, of the entire country in support of a month-long soccer tournament.

Those billions have been spent within its borders: they have been built seven new stadiums and other large infrastructure projects have been completed at enormous financial and human costs.

But when that wasn’t enough, it was also spent generously outside its borders, by buying sports equipment and sports rights worth billions of dollars and hiring sports stars and celebrities to further his cause.

And all this became clear on Sunday.

When the final match was played at the $1 billion Lusail Stadium, Qatar could not lose.

The match was broadcast across the Middle East on beIN Sports, a sports broadcasting giant created after Qatar was awarded the rights to host the World Cup.

Qatar could also claim the two best players on the match, the Argentinian Messi and the French star Kylian Mbappe, both under contract with the French club Paris Saint-Germainowned by Qatari.

Mbappé, who had scored his first hat-trick in a final in more than half a century, ended the match sitting on the pitch, consoled by the French president, Emmanuel Macroninvited by the emir, while the Argentine players danced and celebrated around him.

The contest offered exciting and sometimes disturbing stories right from the start, with an opening intensely political at Al Bayt Stadium, a huge venue designed like a Bedouin tent.

That night, the Emir of Qatar sat next to the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, less than three years after the latter led a punitive blockade against Qatar.

For months agreements were discussed and alliances established.

Qatar’s selection was not a factor in his World Cup debut; they lost all three games, exiting the competition with the worst performance of any host in the history of the competition.

There have also been other problems, some of which are caused by Qatar, such as the suddenness ban on the sale of alcohol inside the stadium perimeter just two days before the first game, a last-minute decision that meant this Budweiser, Longtime sponsor of world football’s governing body, FIFA, will be upset on the bench.

On the second day of the tournament, FIFA crushed a campaign of a group of European teams to wear an arm band to promote the inclusiveness, part of promised efforts to campaign groups and critics in their home countries, and then Qatar stifled fans’ efforts Iranians to highlight the ongoing protests in your country.

But on the pitch, the competition paid off.

There were great goals and great matches, incredible surprises and endless incredible scores that created new heroes, especially in the Arab world.

The first was Saudi Arabiawho can now boast of defeating the world champion in the group stage.

MoroccoHaving reached the knockout stage just once, they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals, with a series of victories over European football heavyweights:

Belgium, Spain and Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo.

These achievements have sparked celebrations across the Arab world and in a handful of major European capitals, while also providing a platform for Qatari fans to promote the Palestinian cause, the only political meddling that the Qatari authorities have done nothing to discourage.

In the stands, the backdrop was curious:

they looked like different parties few followers and then, bizarrely, filled up in the minutes after kick-off, as the gates opened to allow free admission to spectators, many of them expats from South Asia.

The actual number of paying spectators is unlikely to be known, whose empty seats were filled by thousands of the same workers and migrants who built the stadium and the country and kept it running through the World Cup.

This group, mainly from countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nepalhe was the most visible face of Qatar to the estimated million visitors who traveled to the tournament.

They volunteered in stadiums, served food and manned subway stations, polished the marble floors, and polished the railings and doorknobs of the many newly built hotel and apartment complexes.

By the end of the tournament, most of the fans had left, leaving the Argentines, a temporary population estimated at 40,000 people– provide background sound for the final match.

Dressed in blue and white stripes, they converged on Lusail Stadium, creating the kind of authentic world cup environment – bouncing and singing during the 120 minutes of play, and long after – something no Qatari wealth could buy.

They had gotten exactly what they wanted from the World Cup.

And also Qatar.

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