It is true that the 220 billion dollar investment made by Qatar was related to the World Cup, but some of this money goes toward Qatar’s long-term development while the rest is either unrelated to this development or is given very little priority. For instance, a highway or subway connecting two stadiums on either side of Doha could significantly improve transportation during the Games, but it would have little to no impact on Qatar’s economy.
It should be noted that hosting expenses continue even after the competition has ended.
Some stadiums call for the dismantling and relocation of certain components. Stadiums and other structures that are still standing cost millions of dollars each year to operate and maintain. (Always keep in mind that Qatar only has 300,000 permanent residents and has a very short history in soccer.) The majority of the hotels constructed to house World Cup guests will be empty, and foreign employees will be let go.
How much money will Qatar receive from this source?
Qatar has stated that it anticipates 1.3 million visitors to watch the World Cup games there. Assume that each visitor spends $300 per day and stays an average of four days. Let’s also assume that the anticipated traffic jams, price hikes, and security worries have no impact on regular tourist and business travel. On the basis of these hypotheses, Qatar will receive $1.56 billion in hosting fees.
The presence of Qatar on the global stage is reciprocal. There is a lot of media coverage of Qatar, but most of it is negative. The Qataris used bribery to gain the right to host the World Cup while putting tens of thousands of foreign workers through a brutal hiring process that reportedly caused several thousand fatalities. Due to the extremely high temperatures, the Games will now take place in November or December, and their unfinished capital projects will be clearly visible. Among other embarrassing events, the expulsion of foreign workers from their homes to make room for football fans and ultimately from the nation won’t help Qatar’s image.
The acute cost-revenue imbalance of hosting the 2022 World Cup could only occur in a non-democratic nation, as Qatar has spent three or four times as much as any other nation to host a major sporting event.