FIFA World Cup Research Articles

Resilience-oriented recovery of flooded road networks during mega-sport events: a novel framework

This research presents a novel framework that employs the resilience index and metrics, building on previous studies, to conduct a sequential evaluation of flooded road network performance at each timestep throughout the recovery stage. Subsequently, the mathematical integration of the performance-time diagram produces the Recovery Resilience Index (RRI) used to evaluate any recovery strategy/sequence. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis ensures the consistency of the results. As a case study, this research evaluated three post-flood interventions: Flood-susceptibility-based; Centrality-based; and Critical-links-first recovery strategies, within the context of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 2018. The results showed that the best strategy to be dealing with the critical-links-first and flood-susceptibility strategy to be the worst. The suggested framework will expand the options for recovery planning and resource allocation. Also, it will provide the policymakers with a recommendation to improve the recovery process during FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 2018 and any future mega event.

Study State Dynamics of Team Passing Networks in Soccer Games

ABSTRACT Complex networks have been widely used in studying collective behaviours in soccer sports, such as examining tactical strategies, recognizing team characteristics, and discovering topological determinants for high team performance. The passing network of a team evolves and displays different temporal patterns, that are strongly linked to team status, tactical strategies, attacking/defending transitions, etc. Nevertheless, existing research has not illuminated the state dynamics of team passing networks, whereas similar methods have been extensively used in examining the dynamical brain networks constructed from human brain neuroimage data. This study aims to investigate the state dynamics of team passing networks in soccer sports. The introduced method incorporates multiple techniques, including sliding time window, network modeling, graph distance measure, clustering, and cluster validation. The final match of the FIFA World Cup 2018 was taken as an example, and the state dynamics of teams Croatia and France were analyzed respectively. Additionally, the effects of the time windows and graph distance measures on the results were briefly discussed. This study presents a novel outlook on examining the dynamics of team passing networks, as it facilitates the recognition of important team states or state transitions in soccer and other team ball-passing sports for further analysis.

A socio-onomastic study of the 2022 FIFA World Cup football teams’ nicknames

A socio-onomastic study of the 2022 FIFA World Cup football teams’ nicknames

Legislating Through Policy Statements: The Authority of National Visions in the Arabian Gulf

Abstract National Visions are policy instruments characterized by an outlook that is constitutional in nature, while also appealing to a country’s external relations, as well as its citizens. They are unique to the law and policy of Gulf States and set out decade-long policy aims that are subsequently translated into legislation or/and foreign policy objectives. This article examines the sports-related dimension of the Qatari National Vision, which was the basis for the country’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is demonstrated that the constitutional nature of the sports dimension of the Vision helped to shape social attitudes in Qatar, as well as facilitate a rapid legislative reform in the field of labor relations, such that would have been unthinkable in the absence of strong sports-oriented policy underpinning the entire nation. National Visions should therefore be viewed as accelerators of social change and drivers of rapid legislative reform, even if they themselves do not outward display normative qualities.

Physical Performance in Highest-Level Soccer: Comparison between FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League Matches

Match running performance (RP) of Union of European Football Associations Champions League (UCL) and Fédération Internationale De Football Association World Cup (WC) players are often investigated separately; however, no study to simultaneously observed RP in both competitions. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to provide a comparative analysis of RP of professional soccer match-play across two highest-level soccer competitions: UCL and WC. The RPs (UCL; n=244, WC; n=581) of professional soccer players were analyzed using optical systems, and classified according to their playing positions as: central defenders (CD), fullbacks (FB), central midfielders (CM), wide midfielders (WM) and forward (FW). The RP variables included total distance and high intensity running (>5.5 m/s). One-way analysis of variance was used to examine position-specific differences between RP in WC and UCL, while Cohen’s d was used to identify effect sizes. Results indicated that CDs, FBs, CMs, and WMs from UCL covered significantly greater total distance than their counterparts from WC (all moderate effect sizes). In addition, CDs from UCL achieved greater amount of high intensity running than CDs from WC (small effect size). This study demonstrated differences in various aspects of physical performance between two highest-level soccer competitions with variations dependent upon playing position. The findings enabled a more thorough understanding of the physical requirements for playing in UCL and WC, and may have direct consequences for specific training programs.

Trauma and orthopaedic surgery response at the world’s largest sporting event: an analysis of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on the Orthopaedic Surgery department at Hamad Medical Corporation and its response to the challenges posed by the world’s largest sporting event.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the epidemiology, crisis management plan, and training program adaptations at the Orthopaedic Surgery department during the World Cup. Descriptive analysis of the number and types of surgeries performed, patient demographics, and the disaster preparedness plan were performed.ResultsDuring the tournament period (November–December 2022), 706 patients (4.22% football fans) were operated on, with an average age of 44 ± 17 years. Most patients were males, 67%. Of the 706 patients, 60.33% were emergency cases, 38.24% were elective, 1.27% were limb-saving, and one life-saving procedure was performed, comparable to pre-tournament numbers. The patients were of 77 different nationalities, reflecting the diverse background of Qatar’s population and the international fanbase of the tournament.ConclusionsThis analysis provides valuable insights for future mega sporting events and highlights the importance of crisis management and training program adaptation for optimal patient care and resident training advancement. The findings demonstrate the crucial role of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department in responding to the challenges posed by large-scale events.

Peran Piala Dunia Fifa 2022 dalam Reformasi Sistem Kafala di Qatar

However, this system was criticized by international organizations because it was considered contrary to human rights, and asked Qatar to reform it. This study aims to discuss the role of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a catalyst for the reform of the Kafala System in Qatar. This study uses a qualitative methodology through literature studies. The results of this study indicate that the 2022 FIFA World Cup has succeeded in encouraging reform of the Kafala system, both in terms of regulation and implementation. Positive responses were made by various international human rights and labor organizations, although some did not respond and even responded negatively, especially organizations that support LGBT.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and the 2022 world cup football tournament in Qatar.

No Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus cases were detected during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November–December 2022, which attracted 1.4 million visitors. Robust monitoring mechanisms instituted by Qatar before and during the FIFA WC can serve as a template for future similar events to detect infectious diseases of global importance.

Home Advantage and its Influencing Factors in FIFA World Cup Asian Qualification

To investigate home advantage in the FIFA World Cup Asian qualification, 508 matches in the group stage of World Cup qualifying in a total of five Asian Zone World Cup qualifying tournaments from 2006–2022 were analysed. It was found that home advantage exists in the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers as a whole (59.9%), with home advantage at the regional level ranging from high to low in South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia, East Asia and Central Asia; Turkmenistan is the country with the highest home advantage, reflecting its exceptional nature. At the individual match level, three factors of Country, Subregion and Year were adjusted by putting them into a multilevel model as random effects, meanwhile, a multi-level model with home points as the dependent variable and the rest as predictor variables also fit well ( R2 = .382). The results show that time zone and climate are significantly correlated with home points after controlling for team quality (both p < .05), i.e., travel and climate were key factors influencing the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers. Altitude, referee bias, crowd and cultural dimensions were not significant influencing factors for home advantage. As cultural dimensions that significantly affect the home advantage in domestic leagues, corruption, ethnic fractionalisation and conflict did not have a significant impact on the home advantage of the Asian qualifiers, indicating that their roles may not be applicable to international competition settings, at least in the Asian qualifiers.

How to sustain motivation among the youth in Qatar beyond hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022?

This research aimed to explore and identify ways in which motivation amongst the youth can be sustained beyond the FIFA World Cup 2022 mega sports event. Findings collated via semi-structured interviews which were further validated by a larger sample through a questionnaire. Its main objectives were accomplished and the vast evidence suggested that motivation among the youth relates to key concepts of resilience, leadership styles and sustainability. This research affirms that resilience contributes to the development of youth and acts as a personal strength factor along with several other contributors, which collectively determine positive youth development. This paper also suggests that resilient and dynamic leadership styles are crucial for sustained motivation and that young people can be motivated by resilient leaders. Several recommendations have been suggested which are relevant to Qatar, youth and sustained motivation after the upcoming mega-event. One of which includes conducting and hosting similar mega events to create wider awareness related to sustainability and Qatar National Vision 2030 to contribute to its achievement positively.

Students’ Views of the Contributing Factors, Effects and Ways to Overcome Islamophobia in Malaysia and the West

Islamophobia is on the rise in the West, and the spread of it through Western media content has alarmed Muslims around the world including in Malaysia. Islam as a religion peace has been described as a religion that promotes violence. Anti-Islamic sentiment and its adherents increased drastically in Europe, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, causing tensions in the communities in those areas. The awarding of Qatar, a Muslim country, to host 2022 FIFA World Cup is the recent example of the case in point. Hence, this paper explores Islamophobia issues in Malaysia and the West from the views of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s students, i.e., knowledge, contributing factors, effects on Muslims, and ways to overcome Islamophobia. A quantitative survey questionnaire was disseminated online to the students and 60 of them responded. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis method. Results indicate that the students’ were knowledgeable about Islamophobia, and they viewed the Western mainstream media as the major factor contributing to the rise of Islamophobia. The students agreed that Muslims in the West received bad treatments as the effects of Islamophobia, and the most effective way to overcome Islamophobia is through the use of online and social media.

Time-Series Forecasting of Hemodialysis Population in the State of Qatar by 2030.

There are few statistics on dialysis-dependent individuals with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in Qatar. Having access to this information can aid in better understanding the dialysis development model, aiding higher-level services in future planning. In order to give data for creating preventive efforts, we thus propose a time-series with a definitive endogenous model to predict ESKD patients requiring dialysis. In this study, we used four mathematical equations linear, exponential, logarithmic decimal, and polynomial regression, to make predictions using historical data from 2012 to 2021. These equations were evaluated based on time-series analysis, and their prediction performance was assessed using the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), coefficient of determination (R2), and mean absolute deviation (MAD). Because it remained largely steady for the population at risk of ESKD in this investigation, we did not consider the population growth factor to be changeable. (FIFA World Cup 2022 preparation workforce associated growth was in healthy and young workers that did not influence ESKD prevalence). The polynomial has a high R2 of 0.99 and isconsequently the best match for the prevalence dialysis data, according to numerical findings. Thus, the MAPE is 2.28, and the MAD is 9.87%, revealing a small prediction error with good accuracy and variability. The polynomial algorithm is the simplest and best-calculated projection model, according to these results. The number of dialysis patients in Qatar is anticipated to increase to 1037 (95% CI, 974-1126) in 2022, 1245 (95% CI, 911-1518) in 2025, and 1611 (95% CI, 1378-1954) in 2030, with a 5.67% average yearly percentage change between 2022 and 2030. Our research offers straightforward and precise mathematical models for predicting the number of patients in Qatar who will require dialysis in the future. We discovered that the polynomial technique outperformed other methods. Future planning for the need for dialysis services can benefit from this forecasting.

Putting Russia's Ban in Historical Perspective: A Curated Interview

Putting Russia's Ban in Historical Perspective: A Curated Interview

Lessons Learned in Qatar: The Role of the Netherlands and Its Businesses in Addressing Human Rights Abuses in Mega-Sporting Events

Mega-sporting events (MSEs) can have a negative impact on human rights throughout their lifecycle, from the bidding stage, over to the planning and preparation stage, the delivery of the event, and also as part of their legacy after the event has concluded. They can be linked to land grabbing, forced evictions, forced labour and many other human rights abuses. The problem is that only a very few of these cases are actually addressed in the sense that rights-holders receive an effective remedy and those responsible for the abuse are held to account. MSEs are jointly organized and staged by public, private, national, and international actors, which each contribute in different ways to the associated human rights impact. Rather than looking at the responsibility of those actors directly involved in organizing and staging the event, this article looks at the responsibility of the participating actors of states that are represented at the event, namely businesses and sports bodies, using the Netherlands and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the guiding example. The central questions it tries to explore based on lessons learned and opportunities missed in Qatar are how such actors are connected to adverse human rights impacts associated with MSEs, which responsibilities under the human rights framework flow from those connections, and how participating states should then ensure that businesses live up to their responsibilities.

Who Is to Blame and What Is to Be Done? The Rise and Fall of Russian Authority in the Olympics

Who Is to Blame and What Is to Be Done? The Rise and Fall of Russian Authority in the Olympics

World Cup 2022 Knockout Stage Prediction Using Poisson Distribution Model

Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. The popularity makes every topic related to football interesting, for instance, the FIFA World Cup winner prediction. This topic is not only for casual discussion but could be a practical decision support for coaching staff to rate the team’s readiness. Most prediction methods use large match datasets. Since every national team has a different squad for every world cup and the FIFA World Cup is held every four years, the usage of a large match dataset is irrelevant. Therefore, there is a need for a prediction method based on the relevant data. We applied the Poisson distribution model for predicting the FIFA World Cup 2022 knockout stage match results. We calculate the probability of winning and losing based on their average goal scores and goal conceded and evaluate the difference by the actual result using de Finetti distance. The successful prediction is 8 out of 15 matches, with six inside the round of 16 games. Thus, the new data attributes need to reformulate Poisson’s lambda. Further studies need to add the 3-4 prior world cup matches data to increase the acceptance of prediction.

Effects of Different Formations on The Running Performance of High-level Football Players

The match formation is the football player’s position arrangement on the field, the attacking and defending strength collocation and the duty division form. It is the match tactics important constituent. This study took the three most commonly used match formations (4-5-1, 4-4-2, 3-5-2) of the 2018 FIFA World Cup as independent variables and the running performance index as dependent variables, aiming to explore the influence of different match formations on the running performance of players in the team as a whole and at various positions. The research results showed that :1. Teams in 4-5-1 and 3-5-2 formations completed more sprints than teams in 4-4-2 formations. 2.3-5-2 Centre-backs needs to complete more intense runs and sprints, as well as more sprints, than a 4-4-2 Centre-backs. Wide positions in a 4-5-1 formation complete more intense runs and sprints, as well as more sprints, than those in a 4-4-2 formation. The Centre midfielders of 4-5-1 and 3-5-2 get more sprints than 4-4-2; Strikers in a 4-5-1 formation showed a more marked decrease in the intensity of running distance, sprints and sprints in the second half than those in a 4-4-2 formation. 3.The 3-5-2 Centre-backs have a significantly higher proportion of half-court activity than 4-5-1 and 4-4-2, and a significantly higher proportion of running time than 4-5-1; In 4-5-1 and 3-5-2 formations, the Centralmidfielders running time proportion in half court and attacking three zones is significantly higher than that in 4-4-2 formation. Therefore, when each team conducts daily training, it should take into account the different physical needs of different teams and players in different formations and positions.

A Critical Review of the Korean Women’s Football Development Policy: A Focus on the Women’s Football Development Plans since the 2002 FIFA World Cup

This paper investigates historical changes of the women’s football development policy plan from the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup in South Korea, when the interest towards women’s football was high, to 2020, to suggest policy and historical implications with sustainable guidance. Throughout this period, various aspects of feminism revealed changes in theoretical perspectives of equality and women’s rights, which raises questions of whether the policymakers were aware of that or not. This study concludes by suggesting three policy implications: firstly, despite its meager 20-year history, diachronic discourse of women’s football reflects zeitgeist; secondly, value creation from overseas case studies germinated with certain master plans; and lastly, this area is to be independently recognized beyond that of the men’s league with empathic understanding and political will. With these findings in mind, it has been identified that the feminist theories under the discourse of women’s football policy in the Republic of Korea expect the evidence or justification of the argument from the foreign trends of women’s football discourses.

Mass social change and identity hybridization: the case of Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

ABSTRACT This paper examines how the 2022 World Cup has transformed national and cultural identity in Qatar, and residents’ responses to such change. Our discussion draws on interviews with Qatari citizens and those working within Qatar’s cultural, education, policy, and sports sectors, as well as document analysis. The paper is in four parts. First, we present background information on Qatar, before discussing our chosen methods. Third, we discuss four themes generated from the data. The first focuses on changes to the built environment and how this has impacted perceptions of cultural life in Qatar; second relates to how World Cup infrastructure is also seen as a continued expression of Qatar’s heritage; third centred on the perspectives of Qataris as a cultural minority in their country; and fourth shed light on how certain everyday cultural practices of Qataris has survived modernization attempts, albeit, in hybrid forms. We conclude by suggesting that though Qatar’s World Cup has brought challenges to Qataris, they actively maintain celebratory heritage customs.

Mixing FIFA World Cup alcohol sponsorship agreements with Islamic host countries: a conceptual framework

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate the FIFA requirement that World Cup host nations make alcohol available at World Cup stadia because of its sponsorship agreement with Anheuser-Busch. This paper suggests a framework that FIFA should use in evaluating potential host nations to address the ethical implications of alcohol at the World Cup, especially considering the recent Qatar 2022 World Cup, the first to be held in an Islamic Country.Design/methodology/approachUsing historical analysis of recent World Cups and guided by the Culture-Centered Approach (Dutta, 2008) and stakeholder analysis literature, this paper examines the ethical dilemmas host nations have faced because of FIFA’s insistence on alcohol sales at World Cup stadia.FindingsThe analysis suggests that a three-step process of host country assessment, stakeholder mapping and negotiation would enable the discovery of potential ethical conflicts and thus their negotiation to mitigate the ethical conflicts FIFA’s preexisting sponsorship agreements create for some World Cup host nations, especially Islamic countries.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the framework is conceptual and has not been tested, the components from which the authors draw are well established. The application to mega events sports hosting negotiations is an original contribution. The interdisciplinary nature of the framework also provides a contribution to the research field.Practical implicationsApplication of the framework would enable FIFA and host countries to negotiate mutually agreeable conditions and avoid placing host nations in ethically compromising situations, which is especially timely as FIFA expands into Islamic countries. Its utilization would provide a Halal environment for World Cups hosted in Islamic and perhaps other, countries.Social implicationsFIFA’s commitment to alcohol at World Cups should be questioned. FIFA should not expand this dangerous practice of associating sports with alcohol. Female fans may feel safer, as occurred in Qatar 2022.Originality/valueThis paper's framework uniquely combines communication and strategic management literature and applies it to mega sports events in an original way that would lead to more ethical and culturally contextualized World Cups rather than reifying the alcohol–sport nexus.