How will the 2022 FIFA World Cup change Qatar and the region?
What will be the effect of the World Cup on Qatar and the region, on and off the pitch?
The world’s biggest football tournament begins in Qatar under intense scrutiny.
The Gulf nation is ready for football’s biggest showcase: the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Over the next month, more than a million international fans are expected to attend the world’s biggest sporting event played in the Middle East for the first time.
Qatar has spent billions of dollars since 2010 to prepare for the tournament, building new roads, infrastructure and stadiums.
But the lead-up has put Qatar under international scrutiny like never before, especially on human rights and its treatment of migrant workers.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino criticised what he called ‘racist’ and ‘hypocritical’ media coverage ahead of the event.
So what will be the effect of the World Cup on Qatar and the region, on and off the pitch?
Presenter: Sohail Rahman
Guests:
Faisal al-Mudahka – Editor-in-Chief of Gulf Times.
Ross Griffin – Middle East Editor, International Journal of the History of Sport.
Chansiline Nanze – Sport reporter, Cameroon Radio Television.
Khalifa Al Haroon – Founder, ILQ Network.