As I wrap up the series chronicling the Qatar World Cup journey "from bid to bisht," I want to express my gratitude to Qatar for being an exceptional host of this remarkable tournament. In this final part of the series, let's delve into the distinctive features that set the 2022 tournament apart.
The unique and unforgettable aspect of the Qatar World Cup is that there were record crowd attendees during the group stages, which required amazing logistics, airport transfers, and security for it to all work. For the first and probably last time ever, it was possible for a fan to attend all 64 games both in terms of time and affordability, and do so without having to even change the hotel.
Alcohol was available outside the grounds but many fans – having witnessed the electric atmosphere at the games without alcohol present for the first time in their lives – decided not to drink at all, with some reporting that they had experienced not being drunk and high on life for the first time, and that it was the real thing. There were no reports of hooliganism and unruly behavior. Perhaps the most astounding fact for me was that zero fans from England, my country, were arrested. Something that will surely never be repeated ever again. Despite the frenzy inside the stadiums, we witnessed orderly exits and exemplary behavior outside the grounds.
Unlike neighboring countries, fans had absolute and unrestricted freedom of movement with very light policing. Huge fan zones were set up in Qatar for those who could not attend the games with the same atmosphere. Qatar also arranged for such zones to be set up in Africa and Asia for those fans who could not travel to attend the World Cup.
There has never been a World Cup so safe: Women, children and the disabled were the biggest fans of the organization and safety there. This was the World Cup that women, children, and people with families had always dreamt of attending, and it will be a model for the future. We witnessed a fantastic show of unity, where people of all races and backgrounds enjoyed football together. There were zero cases of sexual harassment or racism, with a French friend of mine observing that the only racism he observed was from French fans online after their black players had missed penalties.
World Cups are usually a license to print money, but this one was different; riding on the metro to and from and between games was free of charge, medical care was also free, and food was very cheap with locals even handing out free food and drinks on the streets.
Qatar Airways laid on a whole host of international flights at very competitive prices so that fans, especially from South America and Africa, could attend the matches. The flights, transfers, visa processing and distribution, and Information Technology worked seamlessly to ensure all this could happen so that 1.4 million visitors could enter and leave the country within 28 days. This was undoubtedly helped by Qatar’s central and geographically advantageous location, especially in a world whose focus is increasingly eastward and southward, but it was, nonetheless, an outstanding feat.
Just as winning the bid to host the World Cup and planning for it was a project of immense complexity over 12 years, so was the effort on the ground by Qataris and expatriates alike to welcome and host the guests. These people displayed every facet of Islamic charity from smiling and being cheerful with fans and guests to directing toward virtue and preventing any unpleasant display to guiding those who were lost, to helping and assisting the disabled, to removing litter and obstacles on the streets, to giving water and refreshments to the hungry and thirsty.
Qatari society as a whole worked for years for this World Cup and has succeeded in delivering one of the most successful mass projects in modern history. It was an immense practical test for a whole country and they passed it with flying colors. This experience will give them the confidence they need for a bright future in a post-gas world, very much in line with their national vision. An important lesson here is that Qatar succeeded in the task as a facilitator and enabler even more than as a doer.
Qatar gave the world an amazing taste of Arabic and Islamic culture in this World Cup by arranging for people to witness the excellence of Islamic culture and civilization in a real-life setting, and this was very deliberate as the theme was one of mutual recognition and understanding, which is only possible if one offers a real version of their own heritage.
Anyone who has experienced the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage or the holy month of Ramadan will know that while the religious rites are essential, the social festivities that surround them can be just as significant and memorable, and in the same spirit, this World Cup was no different. For almost one month, the small city of Doha turned into a 24-hour street party. Locals invited fans into their homes for meals and handed out gifts on the streets. Unlike in the West where rival fans are segregated for their own safety, Qatar had no such restrictions, and so we had fans from every country in one location having the time of their lives.
Due to Doha’s small location, it was not uncommon to walk into a hotel and see players from one team, while stepping outside and seeing fans of others. Prominent ex-football stars like David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand have remarked that the sweetest memory of this World Cup was how all the fans of every team were harmoniously in one place, celebrating and enjoying the football with absolutely no trouble. The usual fan competition and banter were certainly there, but here it was in a friendly manner, something which organizers of future large sporting events will surely need to study if they aspire to achieve similar results.
The Arab chill was introduced to the world during this World Cup – in real time. We were all astounded by just how quickly the cultural fusion and the embracing of Qatari culture occurred, with people addressing, adopting, and then owning it in such a short time.
We also saw the good actions that fans would engage in having a chain reaction, and so, for example, when the Japanese fans would clean the stadiums that their team played in, fans from other teams would emulate this good deed, until it became a common practice.
Fans of Arab, Muslim and South American countries felt free enough to express their solidarity with the people of Palestine, and perhaps due to being blockaded themselves, the Qatari people stepped up their own support in response. Visitors, fans, and teams were treated to the sweetest Quranic recitation coming via microphones from the mosques during the dawn and evening prayers which, unlike other countries in the region, Qatar allowed, with the understanding that this practice would add to the spiritual and harmonious atmosphere. This was demonstrated by the wonderful images that we saw of non-Muslim football fans peering into the windows of mosques as the faithful offered their dawn prayers, the spiritual atmosphere encompassing all.
Muslim celebrities and influencers were invited from all corners of the world and were permitted to freely mingle among the fans in order to facilitate understanding of the religious culture and heritage of Qatar.
After a generation of negative coverage from certain quarters of the Western media, this served as a great leveler.
This World Cup could not have been scripted better. Qatar’s unique position as a conservative and tradition-rooted country meant that it was able to meticulously arrange and facilitate all this. Although the world has learned a lot from the experience of Qatar hosting the World Cup, it is unlikely to replicate the event ever again as it is impossible to recreate these conditions elsewhere.
Moreover, the plots and tricks, by those envious of Qatar, actually enabled the nation to learn survival techniques. Sometimes, one’s enemies can do far more for you than your friends ever could.
It was due to this unique environment in Qatar, one which Qatar refused to compromise on, that we witnessed zero cases of hooliganism, drunkenness and unruly behavior. Also, because Qatar did not compromise and challenged the prevalent Euro-centric view of sports, it has ensured that other nations in the region, that host major sporting events in the future, can do the same and remain consistent with their family-based value systems.
Qatar’s victory has also been a victory for the entire Global South, whose stature and power grows by the day. Perhaps this is why one of the unique achievements of Qatar during the World Cup is that, while it may not have won over the cynics in the West, it definitely did win over the Global South – and those who have monitored the reaction to the fans and commentators from that region will see the huge difference in perception between the two.
Perhaps the greatest secret in why this World Cup was so successful for Qatar lies in the fact that it so urgently needed to host it. Qatar urgently needed a prestige project to put it on the map, and this was it. Just as a country like Qatar that fought and won the right to host the World Cup, it also gave us the most unforgettable World Cup experience.
Denying the imperialistic view that if a region opens up to the world, it would necessarily have to adopt Western societal norms, Qatar has shown that it can push back and host a major intercontinental tournament in an exemplary manner while not only holding on to its traditions and values but by actually inviting others to experience it. Qatar showed that while everybody is welcomed, it is the right of the community and of society to exhibit and stick by its traditions and cultural values. Qatar also learned that, as critical as some of the Western media may be, we live in an age where the West values Qatar’s financial investment even more than its own values.
This World Cup showed that harmony, unity, and reconciliation are realistic goals, much like Qatari diplomacy aims to achieve.
Qatar well and truly deserves our gratitude. It has provided a World Cup that can never be equaled by any other host, whether in terms of the professionalism in how it was organized, or in the harmony among the fans, or the facilitation being provided to attend a record number of matches, or in its legendary hospitality. Qatar won the hearts of the world during this World Cup, silenced every hater, and, in the process, put the country on the map forever.
So, thank you, Qatar. Thank you for showing the world that Arabs and Muslims can excel on and off the pitch – with the finest football and an unforgettable tournament.
Thank you for standing up for our values and showing that we can achieve world-class results without compromising on faith and ideals. Thank you for protecting the fans from being exposed to obscenity and for highlighting Arab and Islamic culture to the whole world in a contemporary and very real setting.
Thank you for helping millions understand that Arabic and Islamic culture has a lot to offer in our troubled times.
Thank you for showing that another type of football exists, one that is women, family, and disabled-friendly – one that need not have any cursing, swearing, drunken behavior, racism, harassment or hooliganism.
Thank you for letting the world know that football is just as much our game as it is anyone else’s and that we can just be as passionate about it in our very own setting.
Thank you, Qatar. You achieved the impossible!
