Everyone anticipated that the Qatar Cup, announced as the most controversial in history, would produce a scandal of great magnitude. It came to pass, but its epicenter is thousands of kilometers from Doha.
European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili raised eyebrows by emphatically defending the hosting country on the eve of the first game. Last week, she was detained by Belgian police on charges of being paid to represent Qatari interests in Europe. The episode confirms the vulnerability of the European political system to lobbying by outside forces. This weakness had already been exposed to public opinion at the beginning of the War in Ukraine, when it became clear that the elites linked to the regime of Vladimir Putin had developed a political and financial network within the European space.
The promiscuity of European elites helped to put in check the attempt to associate the Qatar Cup with the clash between democracies and autocracies on the part of journalists, activists and critics in general. Indeed, the bad mood surrounding the competition dissipated over the course of the games.
In the final phase, opinion makers began to celebrate the multicultural dimension of the selections and left the most sensitive human rights issues aside. Like all European authorities, Emmanuel Macron tried to avoid controversy at the beginning of the games. After France-Morocco, he was spotted praising Qatar’s merits.
The astonishing final between France and Argentina also fits into the road map of transformation into a sporting power drawn up by the Qatari authorities, which had as its starting point the acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain by Qatar Sport Investments in 2010.
The initial goal of winning the major European competitions was never achieved, but the presence on the poster of the final of Lionel Messi and Kyllian Mbappé, the two main stars of PSG, amply justifies the millions of euros buried in the medium French championship.
In a show of strength, the Qatari authorities announced in the middle of the Cup that PSG will stop playing in the Princes’ Park, a monument of local football culture. As if post-2022 Qatar is too big to obey the traditions of France.
Despite outrageous scenes like the pursuit of rainbow flags in stadiums, the truth is that the Cup has improved the profile and general awareness of the Qatar brand. Neighbors such as the United Arab Emirates, which received an important share of tourists, indirectly benefited from the event.
Inspired by its success, Saudi Arabia is already preparing to launch a dual bid to organize the Olympic Games and the World Cup in the 2030s. The story of this Cup, and of this geopolitical year in general, is that Western countries, for better and worse, are increasingly incapable of forming the international community’s opinion of a country, a regime or a culture.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
