Arab Generosity? Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup Tournament Spendings
By: Mohammed Abduljabbar / Arab America Contributing Writer
Comparison
For decades, countries compete to host one of the world’s most observed events, the FIFA World Cup. This mega sporting event comes once every four years. Countries that host this competition have to meet high standards to qualify. They then enter a draw. Since Qatar was aware that it’ll be the first Arab host of the world cup, it has and is revolutionizing its infrastructure and services to accommodate this event. This isn’t unusual, what is, though, is how much Qatar is spending in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In 2010, South Africa spent over three billion US dollars. Brazil’s budget amounted to $11,000,000,000. Russia spent over $20,000,000,000. Qatar, however, is projected to spend over $229,000,000,000 making it one of the, if not the most expensive tournament in recorded history. This huge budget attracted many economists to voice their opinions and observations.
The Pearl of the Gulf
Without a doubt, Qatar is entering, if it hasn’t already, the stage of international markets. It wants to present itself as a trade hub like its counterparts of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, the latter two have already established their countries as fertile lands for successful investments. It doesn’t only attract investments but consumers and world travelers. Qatar wanted to join the wave of economic success.
The surprisingly large budget isn’t only funding stadiums and sporting facilities, it also covers expenses to improve service within the island nation. This includes an accommodating modern airport, subways and metros, hotels and living accommodations, markets and shopping facilities, etc. All of which meet and maybe surpass all expectations of modern standards of luxury. This way, Qatar can compete in the tourism market. According to economists, this will contribute to the significant economic growth of 3.7% in the Qatari economy in the year of the tournament. This won’t be significantly lower in the following year. However, experts expect it to drop to 1.7% in 2024. This is worrisome. Spending a massive amount of the country’s budget on a one-time event without long-lasting positive effects on the economy can have crippling effects.
Does it matter?
The economy of Qatar, like many in the region, largely depends on energy, particularly oil. Qatar wants to diversify its economy as most consumers are gradually lowering their fossil-fuels consumption and are heading to green alternatives. Building on a monumental scale is an attempt to attract investments. There will be ample of attention, commercial real estate, and a strong economy that can provide a consumer base. However, it can face many challenges. The first problem for Qatar’s aspirations is the competition with its GCC fellow states. Second, the scale of expenditure is so relatively large that many observers think it’s much more than Qatar’s economy can handle. The question is, where does this leave Qatar when the tournament ends? Truth is, given the political reality of the nation, not many people are truly concerned.
The government has access to and control over the GDP. So what if these investments do not return as much profit as expected? The country still has ample investments in the oil and energy industry that can sustain its needs. Economists however are worried that this might be a hit and that Qatar’s economy cannot survive for long. The preparations that have been going on for 11 years now, it has caused a population growth of a surprising 67%. This is due to importing labor, mostly from Asia. This has contributed to economic growth. But when most of these workers return home, who’s expected to fill the vacancies as consumers?
Is It Cultural?
One of many aspects of Arab culture is generosity. Over time, part of generosity started to mean spending much of one’s budget on events and items that are to be presented to members outside of one’s family. Weddings, cars, houses, brand clothing. So, are Qataris treating this tournament as a mega dinner invitation to the world? Is this why overspending isn’t as controversial or as questioned as many thinks should be? The middle east is a growing economic center. It’s attracting investors, workers, and consumers from all over the world. This makes reckless overspending a legitimate concern. We believe that this particular cultural aspect should be studied in the context of state-level investments. How does the cultural aspect of spending large budgets to present the country in a luxurious image to the world affect its economy?
A World’s First
As Qatar prepares for one of the world’s largest events, it’s building on a monumental scale. However, decision-makers are aware of many potential challenges. The infrastructure required to host the tournament is normally too large to be useful after the tournament is over, particularly for Qatar. This fact has pushed designers and architects to come up with ways to design facilities that can accommodate this event but not waste massive amounts of capital without a return on investment.
One of the solutions is down-sizing many of the stadiums built for the FIFA World Cup 2022. These stadiums are designed to host many more fans than Qatar’s regular sporting events. Therefore, downsizing them sounds like a great idea. To make it more appealing, Qatar committed to donating dismantled infrastructure to countries that are still developing their sporting facilities. An idea that truly reflects Arab generosity in the best of ways. One particular facility, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium (or Stadium 974) will be completely taken apart. This will be the world’s first temporary venue to be used for the World Cup. Qatar will donate the construction material of Stadium 974 as well. This is a testament to the brilliance and the effort utilized by designers to build these state-of-the-art stadiums that are also resourceful.
To End on Positive Notes
Qatar’s spending on the tournament has birthed breathtaking projects. From stadiums to skyscrapers to infrastructures to shopping malls, Qatar is certainly stealing the show. In addition to the world’s number one airline, Qatar build Hamad International Airport in Doha to accommodate its expected guests in 2022. Its initial capacity was 29 million passengers per year. That is three times more than its current demand.
Qatar also built Al Janoub Stadium. As mentioned in our previous article (check it out here!), Al Janoub Stadium (or Al Wakrah Sporting Complex) is designed by no less than the Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, one of the world’s most prominent and accomplished in her domain.
Of course, we cannot forget about Qatar’s super luxury mall, Place Vendome. Opened in April of 2022, Place Vendome mall accommodates over 600 luxurious brands’ stores. With waterways and dancing fountains, this attraction provides more than just shopping services, indeed, it’s a sight for sore eyes.
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