Even before Lionel Messi-led Argentina’s stunning victory over France in the final, world football’s governing body, Gianni Infantino, declared the World Cup in Qatar the best ever. Some of his vested interests were hidden behind this because 12 years ago, after Qatar, the owner of immense wealth, was chosen as the host of the World Cup, it was continuously opposed politically. FIFA’s main role is to oversee the rules of global football and ensure that the World Cup takes place on schedule.
He was successful in this and also earned billions of dollars. After the start of the game, everyone’s attention went to the field and when Messi and Argentina faced a reverse at the hands of Saudi Arabia on the third day, people forgot everything else and got into the game. A day later Germany were defeated by Japan and then Brazil beat Serbia in their opening match to delight football fans. Morocco did wonders and became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
The game still took center stage even though the Netherlands and Spain failed to advance and Brazil also made a quarter-final exit. This time the World Cup was no longer dominated by a few big teams and for the first time the tournament took on a truly global character. The final was historic, with Argentina and France tied 3–3 after extra time and Messi’s side eventually winning the title in a penalty shootout. But this World Cup was the first such tournament which was more discussed politically. Before the start of the competition, there was discussion about Qatar’s human rights record.
Some European teams decided to protest but FIFA prevented them from doing so. The Qatar World Cup was a government-run tournament and it was clear who was in charge. Every effort was made to suppress any kind of protest. Most information on operations has not been easy to obtain, and any such requests have generally been ignored. Regular press conferences were not held as has been the case in previous World Cups. This time the World Cup did not attract more spectators from Europe but more fans than expected from Argentina and Morocco turned up in Qatar.
It was estimated before the tournament that 12 million tourists would arrive in Qatar during the World Cup, but the official figure was less than eight million visitors for the final week. When Morocco reached the semi-finals, many of its fans tried to reach Qatar. Alam was that many flights coming to Doha were canceled to prevent spectators. Other World Cup matches, however, saw low attendance and many seats remained empty. Expensive accommodation also kept the spectators away from the World Cup.
At the start of the tournament, the organizers of the competition provided free tickets to residents of Qatar to fill vacant seats. Despite all this, FIFA reportedly earned $7.5 billion in the four-year commercial cycle leading up to the Qatar World Cup, more than expected. FIFA now expects to generate $11 billion in revenue over the next four-year commercial cycle. This will also benefit FIFA’s 211 member federations as they will receive more funds from the world’s highest football body.
