DOHA, Qatar — For Qatar, the World Cup draw Friday is the bell signaling the final lap of a race that started greater than 20 years in the past. That is when the Gulf state — poor in sq. miles, inhabitants and (again then) title recognition, however wealthy in per capita GDP and ambition — determined to make sports activities one of many central planks of its growth.
Sports activities would increase the nation’s profile, drive enterprise alternative, present some form of legacy for the day when, inevitably, the oil and pure fuel run out. It was only one prong of the technique — safety (the U.S. army’s Gulf Central Command is in Doha), media (Al Jazeera) and training have been additionally priorities — however in some methods, it was essentially the most important.
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Essentially the most important step within the journey was again on Dec. 2, 2010, when a vote by FIFA’s Government Committee awarded them the 2022 World Cup. It could change into a day of controversy — three of the 25 ExCo members have been suspended for corruption earlier than the vote even occurred, one other 11 who voted that day have been subsequently banned, prosecuted or suspended, and longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter was ousted a few years later — but it surely meant Qatar was on its means and there was no turning again.
And now, stuff will get actual.
The draw Friday will decide how the 32 collaborating nations will line up in teams of 4. Properly, virtually — actual life, after all, has gotten in the way in which within the type of a pandemic and a struggle, which suggests three spots are nonetheless to be decided. Barring any additional twists, one will probably be contested by Ukraine, Scotland and Wales, one other by Australia, United Arab Emirates and Peru and the ultimate one by Costa Rica vs. New Zealand. Whereas most of FIFA’s 211 member nations had their World Cup goals crushed a very long time in the past — and some simply prior to now 10 days — followers in 37 international locations can proceed to hope, no less than till June, when the ultimate qualifiers are performed.
What’s going to they discover when November rolls round and the so-called Greatest Present in Sports activities kicks off? A World Cup like no different.
For a begin, we’re used to international locations internet hosting World Cups, however that is basically a match held in a single metropolis, Doha. Qatar has a inhabitants of practically 2.5 million, and practically 90% of them stay within the Doha metropolitan space. Seven of the eight venues are both in central Doha, or inside a few miles of town limits. The one which’s not (Al Khor) is a mere 30 miles away. By no means earlier than within the historical past of the sport has a lot “stuff” — gamers, followers, sponsors, executives, hangers-on — been concentrated in so little house.
Additionally, by no means earlier than has a World Cup been contested in a spot that feels so new, so unmoored from the constraints of historical past and, particularly, from soccer tradition.
Qatari tradition is wealthy and historical: Folks have been dwelling right here for the reason that Stone Age, however the nation itself solely achieved independence in 1971 and, for a lot of its historical past, it was dominated by others, whether or not British, Saudi or Ottoman. That independence, broadly coinciding with the invention of huge oil and pure fuel reserves, was a blessing. Its riches have been — comparatively talking — spared from being extracted by foreigners, and it instantly discovered itself with a clean slate when it comes to growth and the money to make (virtually) something occur.
Doha felt like an unlimited development web site once I first visited practically 20 years in the past and whereas it is greater and bolder immediately, it nonetheless looks like a piece in progress. Little or no that’s tangible is older than the flip of the millennium: not the posh tower blocks, not the mega-malls stuffed with acquainted manufacturers, not the stadiums themselves. Most of them seem like what you’ll anticipate them to seem like: placing architectural follies that look particularly spectacular from afar, although one (Stadium 974) deserves credit score for creativity, because it was built entirely from shipping containers and will probably be disassembled after the match.
They too contribute to the air of impermanence and rootlessness: You are in Qatar, however you possibly can be wherever — wherever that sports activities and leisure, sponsors and politics meet.
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In some methods, that is an unfair criticism. The previous few World Cup hosts (Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany) did not simply have sturdy and distinct footballing cultures; they have been highly effective world nation manufacturers too. There was an identification there that people have been conversant in and which the match constructed on. Qatar does not have that luxurious. To many, they’re what the world chooses to venture on them: a cookie-cutter, uber-wealthy Gulf petro-state with an absolute ruler, garish luxurious constructions and designer shops, a nation that mistreats migrant workers and likes to build up shiny property, just like the 2022 World Cup, in actual fact. Honest? In all probability not.
Qatar would level to the strides they’ve made — particularly relative to their neighbors — when it comes to girls’s rights, democratic course of, training and, thanks partly to the highlight the World Cup has introduced, migrant employee rights and dealing circumstances, too. However clearly there’s nonetheless extra work to do. And if the 2022 World Cup is to have any objective for the nation, past offering world sports activities leisure and bragging rights, they might want to get higher at telling their story to the remainder of the globe.
The bell has been rung, that is the final lap. Now could be when you must make it rely.
