It was not surprising that some Western countries and their media panicked when they saw that their bets on failure of the State of Qatar to host and organize the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 completely turned wrong.
And that the State of Qatar has not only succeeded in winning the bets but has also won the hearts and minds of football fans who visited the country and saw what Qatar offered to its guests. Thus the global sporting event was a great symbolic and diplomatic success for Qatar.
Under different pretexts, media in many European countries tried to discourage people not to attend the World Cup in Qatar but it was disappointing for them to see more than 1.4 million people visited Qatar during the 29-day event, with a cumulative attendance reaching 3.4 million over the 64 games for an average match attendance of over 53,000.
Qatar managed to showcase the impressive work in organizing World Cup tournament reflecting the distinguished image of the region and Qatar’s immense capabilities in making any sports event successful.
Qatar managed to gather the whole world with its different cultures and beliefs around sports, delivering a message of peace through sports.
But when the world has unanimously agreed on the exceptionality of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 22, the media storms must also subside.
The outstanding organisation of the sporting event has also been confirmed by the survey conducted by the BBC. 78% of respondents in a global, online survey conducted by the BBC voted in favour of World Cup Qatar 2022 terming it as ‘best World Cup this century’.
Up against the 2002 to 2018 versions of football’s biggest tournament, the 22nd version of the World Cup had won majority of the votes with 78 percent. Meanwhile the other versions won votes in the range of 3 percent (2010 in South Africa) and 6 percent (2002 Japan/South Korea).
The poll highlighted the memorable events of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was abundant in huge upsets and jaw-dropping shocks from the get-go.
Qatar 2022 set new standards for stadium innovation, public transportation and sustainable practices that will leave an important legacy for the way future World Cups and other mega events are staged around the globe.
Memorable moments were also made beyond the field of Qatar’s stadiums as the country lived up to expectations as the first World Cup in the Arab world and Middle East. Since its conclusion, it has continued to garner praise for its safety, with no major security incidents or crimes.
