The story of Lionel Messi lifting the FIFA world cup 2022 for his country Argentina is no short of a fairytale. Just like they show it in the movies where the protagonist wins at the climax defeating every hurdle coming his way for a happy ending, Messi finally kissed the long cherished golden trophy in which looks to be his last appearance at the biggest stage of football. Perhaps it was the most befitting end to his world cup run and the last feather in a glorious career where he won everything for himself and his team in both club and national jersey. And with that, the long-awaited haul of millions of Argentine football supporters around the globe to see their team as the world champions again finally came to an end after a 36 years drought. Interestingly, if one looks very closely into the crowd of Argentine Jubilation, he will find another nation smiling as widely as the supporters of La Albiceleste – the organizing country of this year’s FIFA world Cup, Qatar. The reason behind this masked celebration is particularly very fascinating. It is not very unusual to raise a question or two about what Qatar has achieved so lucrative from this world cup. More importantly, as brand practitioners it is essential for us to delve into that discussion.
The success of Qatar most definitely does not lie in their football team’s performance in the world cup. The hosts had a quite forgettable first appearance getting knocked out in the group stage after losing every game they played. Is it then the money they have made from hosting the greatest show on earth? Well, an objective answer to that would be no. Qatar made a record investment of $200 billion for hosting the world cup which is being considered more than 21 previous editions combined of the tournament according to several reports. To put it into context, the highest investment prior to Qatar was done by Russia in the world cup of 2018 where they had spent about $15 billion. The cash flow that Qatar received from visiting tourists in return, though unannounced, is speculated to be significantly lower than the investment they made. So, it is most likely that Qatar actually did not make a monetary benefit from hosting the world cup. Therefore, the question intensifies even more, why would Qatar smile from hosting a world cup where neither their team achieved anything significant nor they made profit? The answer to that would be, Qatar got something much more valuable than money or team performance. Which is the unparallel global exposure that it received from this world cup.
For Qatar, this world cup was an opportunity to make a mark as a nation in the global arena. If we look into the culture or history of the country, it is not conventional at all for them to make a move like hosting the FIFA World Cup. In fact, there were a lot of surprised faces and raised eyebrows when the country’s name was announced as the host back in 2010. But the country did not leave any stone unturned to make this event a success. Qatar built eight stadiums, hundreds of hotels and villas, the Doha Metro, and numerous roads and highways preceding the world cup. The motive of the country was crystal clear; it was to give the audience the greatest experience of the greatest show on earth. Perhaps to compliment such firm determination, fate also went Qatar’s way. The Qatar world cup was one of the most exciting ones which had upsets from the very beginning like Saudi Arabia beating Argentina, Morocco playing the semifinals eliminating hot favorites like Spain and Portugal, Japan qualifying to the knockouts eliminating Germany. Followed by that came one of the most exciting football world cup finals between Argentina and France, with the epic closure where the world witnessed many of our childhood hero ultimately lifting the trophy after countless heartbreaks. The drama and euphoria caused by the Qatar world cup is going to remain fresh in people’s mind for a very long time and with that the name of Qatar is also likely to be echoed time and again. And this is where Qatar has struck gold. Despite being a relatively small country in volume, Qatar has received significant global exposure in the past thanks to its oil reserves. But, as the country looked to expand its economy, diversify its export basket and introduce new sectors in the market, rebranding its image in the global sphere became a key factor for Qatar. The orientalist perception of the gulf countries was certainly a prominent challenge for Qatar in their pursuit which they have substantially mitigated through the world cup. Millions of spectators from all over the world has been to Qatar, consumed their products and services over a month during the course of the FIFA world cup. A larger number of audiences have watched the live telecast of the event from every corner of the world and knowingly or unknowingly they have formed a new perception about Qatar in their mind. Such developments in terms of exposure and progressive branding is going to prove itself more beneficial for Qatar than getting revenue in the long run.
The journey of Qatar is not an isolated turn of events, rather it is part of a growing trend in the Middle East. Other gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates or Bahrain are also walking down the same road as Qatar to utilize sports for forging a global popularity. These developments are happening for more than a decade and we are starting to witness a strong presence of Middle East in popular culture. A number of Middle Eastern airlines are sponsoring famous sports clubs. Popular football clubs such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have Middle Eastern owners. Formula one race is being organized in UAE and Bahrain on a frequent basis. The latest development to it all is the transfer of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to a Saudi Arabian club named Al-Nassr FC just after the world cup. This particular transfer has enforced an unprecedented growth in the sports arena of Saudi Arabia. With one of the most celebrated footballers of all time playing in one of their clubs, the Saudi Pro League is witnessing an overwhelming rise in their viewership and following which is likely to grow even further with time. The Saudi Arabian government has demonstrated their appetite to capitalize on this uprising movement by making a reform to their constitutional policy in order to accommodate the footballer better in the country. Therefore, it is clear as daylight that the gulf countries are keen to use sports as a medium of their rebranding as a nation.
Sports unite people in a sacred bond that often goes beyond boundaries and differences. It has the innate power to bring people under one umbrella and make us feel unanimous. For countries like Qatar, it is a wonderful opportunity to take their identity beyond their border and to the last corner of the globe. And that is why Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries are putting in so much effort into sports and the Qatar football world cup was a demonstration of their pursuit. Qatar has ticked most of the boxes if not all in terms of achieving their objective through the event and it should not be too surprising to see a rise in the number of consumers of Qatari commodities in the global market. This trend of internalizing sports is most likely to grow more and more in the coming years throughout the gulf region. The effective popularization of sports has the potential to shape a brand-new image of Middle Eastern region in the contemporary era.
Author- Sadman Bin Ahsan
