The Qatar World Cup 2002 is arguably the most controversial of all World Cups at least media wise.
I had not planned to see the World Cup in person but changed my mind. I suspect all that controversy piqued my curiosity about the region, the country, the people and their practices.
And with Australia qualifying and it was a good reason to be there
The World Cup and the Olympics have to be the greatest shows on Earth. The Olympics and the World Cup are wonderful spectacle of human achievement in the field of sport.
But it’s the World Cup that has so much fan passion on display. Fiercely tribal at times, they dress for the occasion and mostly in their national colours.
They come fully prepared to support and celebrate with flags, banners and musical instruments from drums to horns. One could see the ebb and flows of their passion on their faces as the camera pans and the match is on. Grown men crying is not that uncommon.
Singing and chanting from the terraces accompanied by drums, it is never a quiet affair. I wondered if I too would be caught up of what I was going to see and feel.
Qatar the country
Qatar is 0.15% the size of Australia and slightly bigger than Cyprus. Occupying a small coastal part of the huge Arabian Peninsular, it faces the Persian Gulf. It is indeed a desert with single city, Doha and one of the few places on Earth where the desert actually enters the sea.
One of the smallest countries in the Middle East with the smallest population after Bahrain. It has slightly less than 3 million people and only 10.5% are Qataris. The rest are migrant workers and expatriates. Close to 50% are from the Indian Sub Continent.
Like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore much of infrastructure building is done by migrant workers.
These cities all have similar identifiable traits. The presence of people from the Sub-Continent and the Philippines plus expatriates from around the World forming the backbone of their success.
These countries too have few locals to develop on their own. And yet they have achieved remarkable progress for their people in comparison to other developing countries.
Qatar and the World Cup
It is the first Arab and the smallest country to host the World event.
FIFA could not explain how Qatar was selected despite not meeting the obvious scale and population criteria while others in the bid were far more qualified. Hence the controversy.
Along the way the Qatar World Cup created a number of precedents. It is the first winter World Cup with dates moved from mid year to November to avoid the harsh climate. It however disrupted football leagues schedules around the World as it out of calendar.
Also the most compact World Cup as all 8 stadiums can be reached from the same accommodation without much effort or time.
All 8 Stadiums are air-conditioned. One of the 8 stadiums will be completely dismantled after the event as it would be surplus to local needs.
The “974 “stadium named after it telephone country code was built using 974 multi-coloured containers. 6 other stadiums will have their capacity halved after the games from an average capacity of 40 thousand to 20 thousand. The dismantled seats tiers to be donated to developing countries.
Since being awarded the World Cup in 2010, Qatar began a massive infrastructure build that would cost them an estimated USD400B. The most expensive event in the World for years and decades to come.
They now have a World class metro, a fabulous skyline and excellent roads and ancillary municipal services.
Building infrastructure
The primary issue is if all that infrastructure is necessary? For such a small country when the World Cup ends and Qatar goes back to normal.
Then again look at the airport and the national airline of this tiny Kingdom.
Doha’s Hamad International Airport and Qatar Airways both voted the World’s best. So it should dispel any doubts that this is a one-off agenda. At least not for the Qataris.
The amount of passengers transiting their airport and the routes served by its national airline is not at all proportional to its size. And they look after their passengers well.
They appear to play big and they have done it for years. Not as long as Singapore though. Tiny Singapore is all of 55kms by 28kms and they began their journey in the 70s. So Qatar is not alone. Dubai is in the same league.
At the height of the mammoth building phase Qatar had the most number of tunnel boring machines ever. An indication of resolve.
Qatar, the world’s richest country on GDP per capita basis built on oil and gas production has enough surplus to do more. It has accumulated wealth to last a generation or two even without drawing out any more oil or gas from its vast reserves.
One thing the Qataris could not do was fulfil accomodation needs despite bringing in 3 cruise ships. Their mountain moving capacity stalled here.
For many fans it was an expensive affair. I am sure many overseas fans resold their tickets on the Fifa’s resale platform. It was a blight that did not go unnoticed.
Qatar build-and-run World Cup dynamics
What was clear to see on the ground was the place was awash with high end technology from the West, Japan, China and Korea.
It’s starts with the sophisticated face scanners and screening capsules at immigration, excellent roads and flyovers to the their driverless Metro and their stadiums.
Thousands of brand new buses and cars to ferry and shuttle fans and officials. All for free.
An army of carefully recruited and well trained staff guided by Qatari men and women were everywhere.
They engaged, interacted and spoke well no matter where they came from. Despite being foreign, the migrant and expat staff showed a sense of pride and passion to be involved. From ticket ushers explaining how to activate the digital tickets at the gantry points to those screening bags for prohibited items.
There was no indication it was cobbled together. It was well planned and executed. The only hitch was FIFA ticket activation but the app was under control of FIFA.
The Qataris
Qatari nationals again both men and women were omnipresent working with migrant worker and expats at stadiums, bus hubs and metro stations.
They were at intersection and connection points to make the switch easy. There were also entertainment performances at these points to keep the fans excited.
I actually wondered if any Qatari actually attended any match as a fan as they were everywhere involved in every aspect of the World Cup. They took the call to serve the nation and it showed in the way they engaged the fans making their way to the matches.
Among the front facing and customer engaging staff were Filipinos, Africans, Indians, Europeans besides their own nationals. From the body dynamics I saw their locals interact with their foreign staff counterparts as equals whether at the bus hubs, Metro stations or at the stadiums.
And I have been to the London Olympics to draw a comparison.
Beneficiaries
It does not take much to work out the size of the remittance sent by foreign workers and expats to their home countries.
It covers the 12 years of build and run phase of the World Cup. More than a princely sum out of the USD$400B spent.
These construction workers, supervisors, technicians, engineers, consultants, bus drivers and service staff were sending money to support their families, build homes and a future on their return.
The West benefited from all these as well as it was their technology, their creativity and quality standards that the Qataris paid handsomely for. Western nationals brought their talent and skills to help pull things together.
One look at their Metro and their stadiums, it is clear the finishing is World class. A product of many people from many countries over many years.
An experience unmatched
It was not just that it was a World event but the place, the people and the effort gave an unexpected perspective.
Bound in tradition relative to most, Qatar has a long way to go and the trajectory is right albeit slow. The World Cup has either nudged or forced the Qataris to re-think their approach.
For the traveller and visitor in me being present was meaningful and explained a lot. The expected and the unexpected sort of summed it up.
Something else provided a valuable insight. The behaviour of fans from various countries.
The Japanese, South Korean and the South Americans were the most interactive and engaging despite the language barriers. They would mix and talk with the locals and other foreigners. They were everywhere taking in the sights and sounds. So it was not just football.
Canadian and US fans were out in numbers, carrying flags and dressed for the occasion and they too were spotted at malls.
European fans though appeared reserved, were in their colours making their way along the transport routes. For some reason did not them spot outside the transport routes and the stadiums.
Africans fans much smaller in numbers made their presence felt by their colours and loud cheering and always with a resident drummer in every group.
When it came to spontaneous celebrations , the South Americans and Arabs took centre stage. Drums beating, chanting and speakers blaring. Whether at the stadiums, the metro or at the Souk, they never relented with their chants and flag waving.
Souk Waqif
The Souk became the centre and a welcome breathing spot for the occasion even without alcohol. With it’s central location and along the key transportation node, it was the natural gathering point for fans going to and returning from matches.
The Souk, a traditional Middle Eastern bazaar with cafes it evoked a sense of mystic with an inviting atmosphere. Nights were absolutely brilliant. Arabian nights came to mind. It’s a stand-out and I bet Qatar’s best attraction.
Visiting Qatar for the World Cup was not only a tick of the bucket list, it was an experience to learn and appreciate.
A gathering of the World. Nothing like being there and seeing it for yourself. A decision to go was the right call.