Doha: Sport constitutes a large industry, huge trade, and a thriving economy in today’s world. It is no longer just a popular recreational game, but has economic, social and financial dimensions.
The State of Qatar is a pioneer in this field, as it spends generously on sports and has become a global destination for its fans. Qatar’s total imports of sporting goods and products and related accessories amounted to about QR1.695bn in the first ten months of last year.
Due to the importance of sports, the State of Qatar has designated today of the second week of February every year as an occasion to celebrate the Sports Day. This year’s celebration will witness the organization of about 130 events with the participation of more than 100 parties.
The Planning and Statistics Authority confirmed to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the value of Qatari imports of sporting goods during the year 2021 amounted to about QR 1.3 billion, an increase of 74.2 percent compared to the year 2020, which the value of its imports amounted to QR738.4m.
Belgium, China, Italy, Vietnam and South Africa accounted for the list of the most important countries of origin from which sporting goods are imported.
The sports sector in the State of Qatar contributed to increasing and diversifying the sources of national income in terms of revitalizing the sports tourism industry. The impressive success of the State of Qatar in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has confirmed its global position to confirm its presence as a global sports destination, after it laid new rules in organizing the World Cup finals.
In its statement to QNA, the Planning and Statistics Authority indicated that Qatari imports of sports goods and products and their accessories recorded a remarkable growth over the past years, as the value of live animal imports for sports competitions jumped from about QR 60m in 2020 to more than QR485.2m in 2021, while during the first 10 months of last year it recorded a level of QR456.6m.
Qatar also imported flags, banners and photographic frames, at a value of about QR12.7m in 2020, and rose to QR15.6m in 2021, and then jumped to QR26.7m in the first ten months of the year 2022.
In the same context, imports of sports equipment recorded a significant increase from QR 143.4m in 2020 to QR 174.4m in 2021, while during the first ten months of the year 2022 they recorded a level of QR156m.
In terms of imports of boats, rafts, and jet skis for sports, the data showed that their value amounted to about QR 68.3m in 2020, then rose to QR 104.1m in 2021, and then jumped to QR 127.5m in the period from January to October in 2022.
Imports of sportswear and its accessories accounted for the largest share of the value of imports during 2020, recording QR 341.1m, jumping to more than QR 422m, and it continued to increase during the first 10 months of the year 2022 to reach QR450.7m.
According to the same statistics, imports of other commodities (including machines and devices that will work in mowing grass in sports stadiums, hunting rifles, parts and supplies for cartridges used in hunting, sports bags, etc.) amounted to QR113m in 2020, while it recorded a level of QR84.6m in 2021, and then jumped at record levels to about QR477.2m in the period from January to October 2022.
The State of Qatar not only imported sports goods and products and their accessories, but also re-exported to a number of countries in the world. Statistics on re-exports of sporting goods and products and their accessories show that the general total for re-exporting sporting goods has recorded continuous growth over the past years, reaching QR 70.7m in 2020, rising to QR 119.5m in 2021, and then jumping to QR173.7mriyals in the period from January to October 2022.
The financial returns achieved from hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 amounted to about $17bn, which are various immediate and future returns. Qatar has received more than one million and 400 thousand visitors from all over the world, and the (FIFA) estimated that about 5 billion people around the world watched the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matches, and it is possible that about 40 million people will seek to visit the country after the end of the tournament.
