🧵Has #Qatar2022 been a success for the State of Qatar🇶🇦? It might be too early to determine, but looking at the success of Qatar’s sports political strategy in the last 15 years might give some answers. Long thread! This article is by @MiguelDelaney 1/23
independent.co.uk/sport/football…
independent.co.uk/sport/football…
Shortly after🇶🇦was awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar Foundation reached a five-year, £125m deal with the #Barcelona as shirt sponsor. The agreement marked the first time that Barca were to be paid to advertise on their jerseys. theguardian.com/football/2010/…
Qatar Foundation is a state-led organization, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser.
Later on Qatar Foundation would be switched with Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Qatar Airways has had a very important role in Qatar’s sports strategy throughout the years. A few examples in the following tweets. fcbarcelona.com/en/news/114429…
Let's kick off with Qatar's crown jewel and European flagship: Paris Saint Germain which Qatar acquired the ownership of in 2011.
https://twitter.com/qatarairways/status/1443227778690732037?s=20&t=tBiPdXUfaletsNlHJMhUEQ
Qatar also has a good partnership with FC Bayern Munich
Qatar Airways has also sponsored Italian football club AS Roma
Qatar also extends its influence to the US through NBA team Brooklyn Nets
Qatar Airways also became the official sponsor of #EURO2020. A unique opportunity to further establish itself in Europe.
https://twitter.com/qatarairways/status/1363790639847112706?s=20&t=tBiPdXUfaletsNlHJMhUEQ
In 2017, Qatar Airways was announced as Official Partner and Official Airline of FIFA
fifa.com/tournaments/me…
fifa.com/tournaments/me…
Qatar Airways is such a key player for the State of Qatar and has many more sponsorships than the ones above in the sports word: like CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, AFC, Boca Juniors. Just like Ooredoo, Visit Qatar and Qatar National Bank plays an important role in the world of sport.
September 2013, The Guardian publishes damning revelations of the abuse of workers on construction projects in Lusail City and reveals that 44 Nepalese workers died in a two-month period.
theguardian.com/world/2013/sep…
theguardian.com/world/2013/sep…
May 2013, @ituc and the @The_TUC is calling on UEFA to address the appalling treatment of workers in Qatar and back calls for FIFA to re-run the vote for the 2022 tournament should the Qatari government fail to take any action. Nothing happened. ituc-csi.org/unless-qatar-i…
November 2013, @amnesty details widespread and routine abuse across Qatar’s construction sector. Since then numerous human rights organisations like Amnesty, @hrw, @BWIglobal, @fairsqprojects, and @EquidemOrg has reported about human rights violations in🇶🇦 reuters.com/article/uk-soc…
Despite ALL the reports on Qatar's human rights violations the world of sport has continued to award hosting rights of sporting events to Qatar. Here's some of them. 
And Qatar has also been awarded the hosting rights of the 2030 Asian Games, and just recently the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships. dohanews.co/qatar-wins-bid…
2019, Nasser Al-Khelaifi was elected to UEFA ExCo. Also a minister without portfolio in Qatar, chairman of 🇶🇦state-owned BeIN Sports, chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, board QIA, prez #PSG and 🇶🇦Tennis Federation, chairman ECA, board 🇫🇷Professional Football League, and more.
According to their own website, the network covers 43 countries across five continents with 60 channels and has 55 million+ tv-subscribers. beinsports.com/en/about-bein-…
Since 2002, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, has been an IOC Member. olympics.com/ioc/hh-amir-sh… And in October 2022, Sheikh Joaan, Sheikha Hind and Al Buenain was appointed to IOC Commissions. thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/02/10/…
One of the big PR scoops was that the State of Qatar convinced Beckham to become an ambassador
Qatar had a long list of ambassadors including Tim Cahill, Cafu, Samuel Eto’o, Xaxi, and Ronald de Boer. qatar2022.qa/en/legacy-amba…
Before #Qatar2022, FIFA President Infantino used a press conference to roll out the red carpet for future cooperation with autocrats at his opening press conference at the 2022 World Cup, writes @JensSejerA playthegame.org/news/football-…
Well, this is too much already. So much more to put into this thread. Bottom line: Qatar has overall succeeded very well with their strategy, and now they are aiming for the #Olympics theguardian.com/football/2022/…
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