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World Cup 2022

The dream is over for Saudi's football fans after Mexico beat them 2-0 at the World Cup, but the countries remain strong trading partners

Saudi and Mexico get back to business after World Cup exit

The deepening relationship between Saudi Arabia and Mexico may have been tested for 90 minutes on Wednesday as the central American team prevailed 2-0 in their World Cup match in Qatar. Both teams went out of the tournament due to results elsewhere in their group, but, more importantly, the two countries are enjoying a bounce […]

Person, Man, Adult

Messi takes on Ronaldo in ‘cryptoverse’ World Cup 2022

The market for fan tokens, a volatile cocktail of crypto and sport, is heating up in the desert of Qatar. Interest in this niche breed of cryptocurrencies, typically linked to sports teams like Barcelona or Brazil, has been charged up by the soccer World Cup which began on November 20. Average daily trading volumes for […]

Urban, Night Life, City

Gulf states to capitalise on World Cup tourism ‘halo’ effect

Qatar’s Gulf neighbours have more than a passing interest in the World Cup. When the tournament ends Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman will be looking to capture the ripple effect resulting from the surge in tourists to the region.  For the GCC’s tourism sectors, the World Cup is viewed as a catalyst for a […]

An Iran fan in the Khalifa stadium, Doha, ahead of her team's opening World Cup match against England on November 21. A marine link from Bushehr, southern Iran, to Qatar has opened for the tournament

Qatar scores, with vital assists from Iran, Turkey and the UAE

Alongside the massive investment and the 12 years of preparation, Qatar has called in more than a few favours to aid the smooth running of the World Cup. While its allies have proved keen to help, Doha has had to tiptoe carefully around the geopolitical faultlines that run through the Gulf. Turkey has sent more […]

World Cup Qatar

Uefa welcomes Fifa pledge to tackle Qatar labour issues

A group of 11 European football associations welcomed promises from Fifa of support for migrant labourers in Qatar and the creation of a legacy fund from 2022 World Cup proceeds. The Uefa Working Group on Human and Labour Rights, made up of representatives from the football associations of Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, […]

Fans enjoy Qatar World Cup from a distance at Dubai festival

Soccer fans in Dubai were jubilant on Sunday as they watched the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in neighbouring Qatar at a fan festival in the region’s commercial hub. The BudX FIFA Fan Festival in Dubai featured big screens, beer and other drinks on an artificial island off the city’s buzzing Marina district, […]

Qatar 2022

Nine ways the World Cup will transform Qatar

Qatari strategists conceived the World Cup as a catalyser for long-term development ambitions. Across a range of economic sectors, the government has sought to embed the transitory impact of the tournament with longer-lasting side-benefits. None are more evident than in the tourism sector. As Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer of Qatar Tourism, told AGBI: “The […]

Fanfare for first flight from Israel to Qatar for World Cup

Balloons festooned the departure gate for the first commercial flight between Israel and Qatar on Sunday, permitted by Doha for World Cup fans despite a lack of formal bilateral relations. While the excitement was mainly at being able to attend the soccer tournament, for which Israel did not qualify, with such surprising ease several passengers […]

TUS Airways gets nod for Israel-Qatar flights during World Cup

Cyprus-based TUS Airways has received final permission to operate non-stop flights to Qatar from Israel during the soccer World Cup, a source at TUS told Reuters on Friday. In all, TUS will operate six flights between Tel Aviv and Doha, beginning on Sunday, the source said. FIFA announced last week that Qatar would admit the […]

Budweiser campaign curbed, not crashed, by Qatar beer ban

A last-minute decision to ban the sale of alcohol at Qatar’s World Cup stadiums will seriously limit Budweiser sales in the Gulf state, but will not derail its owner’s global campaign during the tournament, industry analysts said. Soccer world governing body FIFA’s announcement of the ban on Friday, just two days before the event kicks […]

Argentina fans on Copacabana beach in Rio during the 2014 World Cup. Visiting fans represented 0.7% of the population in Brazil. For Qatar, the percentage will be far higher

Shops on target: Qatar retailers set for $1.2bn World Cup windfall

Qatar’s retailers are tipped to be big winners at the 2022 World Cup. New forecasts for the tournament’s impact, compiled by Fitch Solutions, suggest that the sector can expect a $1.2 billion windfall in the fourth quarter. Fitch is predicting that the Fifa competition will drive a sharp rise in Qatar’s GDP growth from 1.5 […]

Qatar World Cup

All eyes on Doha as World Cup finally comes to town

Late autumn is typically a busy time in the Doha social calendar, as temperatures fall in Qatar and locals and wealthier expats return from cooler climes.  This year the atmosphere is different. In one respect, the city has never been busier, as an army of labourers puts the finishing touches to the stadiums, hotels, malls, […]

A beer bar at the Fifa fan festival in Doha

No alcohol sales at World Cup stadiums after Fifa u-turn

Alcohol will not be sold at Qatar’s World Cup stadiums, Fifa has announced, in a reversal of its previous policy. The statement comes two days before the tournament begins on Sunday. It is the first to be held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in […]

Israel deploys diplomats to World Cup to help fans settle

Israel has sent diplomats to help its citizens attending the World Cup in Qatar and plans to launch temporary direct flights to Doha on Sunday as the countries find a measure of accommodation for the soccer tournament despite having no formal relations. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Israelis are expected at the month-long matches in the […]

Lusail stadium

Lusail City is ready for Qatar 2022 … and beyond

All over the Gulf, Vision 2030 mega-projects are somewhere on the road from drawing-board dream to functioning reality. One has already got there: Lusail City in Qatar. Work on the development began almost a decade ago, spurred on by preparations for the 2022 World Cup. At the time, the site was a mere village, about […]

Dubai gears up for 120 match-day shuttle flights to Qatar World Cup

Dubai Airports is preparing for a massive surge in passenger numbers at Dubai World Central (DWC), with the match day shuttle flights to Doha, Qatar, for the FIFA World Cup 2022 all set to start from November 20. UAE’s low-cost Flydubai and Qatar Airways will fly up to 120 match-day shuttle flights in and out […]

Pool, Water, Resort

Qatar’s non-oil sector slows despite World Cup 2022

Qatar’s headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in October fell below the neutral 50 mark, bringing an end to 27 consecutive months of growth, as the country prepares to host the Fifa World Cup later this month.  The latest PMI survey data from Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) shows that the index fell to 48.4 in October […]