Views /Opinion

Qatar: Sports City of Gold

As the 2022 World Cup – a 12-year saga - has ended, we can’t help but wonder what’s next for Qatar. Was it a political score or a financial home run? Billions spent. Sacrifices made. Targeted by brutal campaigns. But as the famous Arab proverb goes, ‘the dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on’. Where to? The City of Gold.

Here’s my proposal A Gulf League, bringing together regional football clubs. This will be a bold move that will incentivize football lovers to show up for games, with classicos every weekend, city-wide events with promotional and discount offerings. Rolling the red carpet to fans from all over the region, from Saudi Arabia in the Southwest to the Sultanate of Oman in the Southeast.

This was beautifully captured by the English Premier League, when they included foreign-based teams like Cardiff City and Swansea City back in the 1920s, gradually entering into a path to becoming the strongest league in the world - an exemplary model to emulate.

As with any industry, it’s important to shed light on certain shortcomings, to craft new solutions. One of these is the Home & Away philosophy; where teams depend on crowd support, location and environment. The limited size of the State of Qatar, particularly having clubs located in close proximity, would often act as a barrier to achieve competitive gains, thus hindering the scope of “home advantage’ for the clubs.

Now, to rub salt into the wound, several clubs brought in football legends like Raul, Sneijder and Xavi, who may very well have been great players in their prime but are past their ‘best before’ dates in ours — showcasing Qatar as a source of easy money and a global destination for retirement.

So to keep the current league structure is to continue flogging a dead horse. But the real crux of the problem is neither this nor that. It’s the common fact that we have money we can afford to lose.

A futuristic model of the Gulf League Headquarters to be based in Qatar

This money can be well spent on the Gulf League Proposal with the implementation of a double-round robin tournament — leading to more games and designated seats for each member of the Gulf Corporation Council.

Existing rivalries among clubs in the region can be exploited to the full extent. With great content comes great engagement. This will, in turn, provide steady growth for local business owners.

Driving more foot traffic to restaurants and entertainment sites is the lifeblood of our private sector. Further examples exist in many countries, including but not limited to the United Kingdom, the home of the Premier League.

Nottingham City Council reported that the club’s promotion to the Premier League will bring an estimated £120 million, plus 100,000 visitors injected into the economy. This indicates that football, along with its economic veil, is a driving factor in drawing economic policies.

It is perhaps more feasible to take an example closer to home - the 2022 Qatar World Cup. A one-hit wonder. Saudi Arabia’s opening victory against Argentina, a win that opened the floodgates of an official Saudi invasion, with tens of thousands cheering at Lusail Boulevard, occupying highways, culminating in heavy traffic at restaurants and cafes – all gifting the locals with a bucketful of revenue.

According to a recent report, the global sports market is expected to reach $707 billion in 2026; largely due to broadcasting rights. Determined by the number of views and fan attendance, media outlets are the very source that fuels the sporting industry.

Having said that, it is perhaps the catalyst that stimulated a potential merger between the Belgians and the Dutch — contributed by Deloitte’s further study that a merger of this size will bring in €400 million in television earnings.

Qatar’s population, as it hosts the FIFA World Cup, currently stands at around 3 million. Should this proposal come to fruition, it will place the league in front of 50+ million people on land, not to mention millions of viewers abroad, attracting television deals and commercial advertising in mind-boggling numbers and quantities.

While it is important to highlight policy deficiencies, we ought to look closely at key practices that promoted the league. As the political turmoil in Iraq intensified, several Iraqi players found refuge in the Qatari League. This resulted in a quick formation of an Iraqi fan base, leading in turn to millions of views on YouTube and thousands of blogs, lifting our league to a regional standing.

These are statistics and incentives that could be of great use to organizers in laying down targets and KPIs.

Another marketing scheme that could effectively streamline customer acquisition is through docu-series. Started in 2016, Amazon: All or nothing, conquered sports reality tv. The series followed global titans such as the likes of Juventus, Manchester City and Arsenal throughout their season. Offering fans, a closer look at the day-to-day operations of a football club.

As the country embarks on diversifying its revenue streams and promoting foreign direct investments, the solution lies in unifying efforts between the Qatar football association and business platforms.

As explained by the framework, league expansion will serve as a building block towards commercialization of sports. Attracting football enthusiasts, followed by sponsorships. Shifting the financial burden from the government to the private sector. Where foreign investors are concerned, a plethora of incentives are within their grasp, from beneficial customs, on the one hand, to tax holidays on the other.

A roadmap to a billion-dollar industry. To a City of Gold.