Chongqing - As football fever gripped people's attention worldwide, Qatar, a tiny gas-rich gulf state of 2.9 million people in the Middle East, stepped onto the global stage. While some people are still wondering if Qatar is safe to travel to, the country has risen to international fame as an outlier in World Cup history, as most hosts have been significant and influential countries. However, on top of the 64 matches that are holding across Qatar's eight shiny new stadiums, mainstream media is more intrigued to find out if the biggest extravaganza of football with a 220 billion USD price tag will ever pay off.

The most expensive World Cup in history

Despite the fierce criticism the wealthy Arab nation has stirred up since winning the bid to host, Qatar's grand ambition to impress the world is unwavering. The host country rushed to sweep the World Cup fans with a mind-blowing 220 billion USD investment in the event, making Qatar's 2022 World Cup the most expensive one in history. Before Qatar 2022, all the host nations spent no more than 20 billion USD, making it safe to say that this tournament will even remain the most expensive in many years to come. Some may question that 220 billion is a dubious number estimated with figures revealed by Qatari officials. Still, there is no denying that the country has spent a considerable fortune to ensure a satisfactory journey for football fans.

As a significant event of many firsts, Qatar 2022 is the first World Cup held in the Middle East. According to FIFA and AP News, the event has attracted more than 2.45 million fans to Qatar, and Ecuador's 2-0 win over Qatar in the World Cup 2022 opener drew 7.2 million television viewers in the United States alone. Both numbers are record-breaking and sound very promising, but hosting the tournament is not as profitable as people expected. It is difficult to find out how Qatar spent 220 billion USD; however, it is not hard to come across a justifiable estimated revenue by peeking into world cup history. According to the CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, revenue from this event is expected to be around 17 billion USD. With such an unreasonable cost-to-return ratio, what game is Qatar playing by hosting this event?

A strategy for Qatar 2030 National Vision

Qatar's finance minister Ali Shareef Al-Emadi said in 2017 that this country spent USD 500 million a week to prepare the nation for 2022, and over USD 200 billion would be spent on the country's infrastructure, such as Lusail city, Doha metro, and Hamad airport. Unlike other host nations, the construction of sporting venues only accounts for a small portion of the country's generous budget. Most major infrastructure projects for World cup 2022 align with the Qatar 2030 National Vision, a development plan launched in October 2008 to "transform Qatar into an advanced society capable of achieving sustainable development" by 2030.

As a plan to diversify the country's economy, the goals of Qatar 2030 National Vision are divided into four central pillars: economic, social, human, and environmental development, all of which require modern infrastructures. The brand-new metro system, the expansion of Hamad airport, and the construction of Lusail city were already under consideration to transform the country earlier, and the World Cup 2022 just sped up the timeline. Qatar is well aware that natural gas is a hot commodity just for now. As the world seeks to end its reliance on fossil fuels due to intensifying climate disasters, this country must devise a solution to secure a sustainable future. It's worth noting that Qatar has been a Belt and Road Initiative member since 2014 and has aligned its Qatar National Vision 2030 development plan to China's BRI. As the Silk Road Initiatives projects pick up steam, the gulf state has great potential to become a major beneficiary.

Qatari officials believe that the infrastructure developed for the World Cup 2022 will lay a solid foundation for the country's non-energy economy, for example, drawing tourists worldwide into this country. Though most analysts expect economic activities to slow down as World Cup visitors flock back home after the games are finished. Qatar may aim to build itself into a world-class sports destination, but the path from hosting sporting events to a sustainable development model is still unclear.

Middle East Version of Sports Diplomacy

So, Qatar 2022 still appears to be an exorbitant gamble till now. But if you consider geopolitics, the situation will be quite different.

Sitting in the tumultuous Middle East, Qatar is a tiny nation with only 70% of Beijing's land area and 12% of Beijing's population, of which 90% are migrant workers. To make Qataris warier, the gulf nation is entirely encircled by regional heavyweights, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and Iran. To safeguard its sovereignty and independence, Qatar's walking a fine line with the strategy of balancing and alliance-building between gulf leaders and great powers. Qatar allowed the US to build its most extensive military base in the Middle East in Doha, which also plays host to a group within the British Royal Air Force, to ward off incursions by hostile neighbors. This country has also heavily invested in promoting its international visibility and expanding its global outreach through hosting sports events since the 1990s. Qatar has been the venue for many international championships in recent years, including the 2006 Asian Games, the 2015 Men's Handball World Championship, and the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championship.

By linking the West and the Middle East and making inroads on the global stage, Qatar is capable of maintaining peace & stability and achieving prosperity regardless of regional clashes and conflicts. In 2017, Saudi Arabia and 3 Arab nations cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism. Qatar categorically denied the accusation and refused to surrender to the blockade imposed by its neighbors. In early 2021, US-backed mediators intervened to resolve the dispute, and diplomatic relations were restored between Qatar and neighboring countries. Fasting forward to the World Cup 2022, the biggest sporting event is a perfect catalyst for further regional harmony. Qatar is now closely working with neighbors to handle the influx of more than 2 million visitors as all of them witness a surge in demand for hotel rooms. 

As the Qatar World Cup 2022 serves as more than a publicity stunt for the upstart in the global political arena, if this country is questioned about whether hosting the most expensive World Cup in history makes economic sense, from a long-term perspective, Qatari officials would surely grin and answer 'Yes.'