Investments in sport: fans’ impressions of Qatar 2022

Abstract

ABSTRACT Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup (WC) was met with criticism and mixed-feelings, especially certain journalists from the Global North. Others acknowledged that it was going to boost economic activities and deepen the sports-tourism nexus. The overarching aim of this paper is to analyse fans’ impressions of Qatar 2022 regarding their lived experiences in the city of Doha, which helps to understand and clarify some negative perceptions held before and during the World Cup. Interviews with 31 participants arbitrarily sampled from different countries reveal that Qatar 2022 brought fans imaginable excitement and indelible lived experiences. According to some, it will take decades for successive host countries to match those lived experiences, spectacular displays, smooth commutations and excellent organisation. Some tag it “the best FIFA world cup ever”. Results show that Qatar 2022 inspired, gingered and spurred fans on albeit, other mixed-feelings associated with the tournament. We report that there is a perceived image-rebranding strategy that worked successfully for the host nation. The fans further recommend that FIFA revisit its ticketing processes and systems to make them more accessible and fluid without difficulties. Fans suggest that subsequent hosts of the World Cup could be confined to ‘one city’ only so that they can watch two matches a day as experienced in Qatar. However, fans have concerns about the WC event becoming more expensive for an average supporter in the future.