Qatar’s World Cup Is the Most Expensive World Cup Costing 20X of 2018 World Cup
According to a SafeBettingsites.com data presentation, hosting the Qatar FIFA 2022 WC will cost the nation $220B. That’s nearly twenty times more than the $11.6B that Russia spent on the 2918 tournament.
“Qatar fashioned its bid for the 2022 WC as a bold gamble to bring the tournament for the first time to Arab soil,” explains Safebettingsites’ Edith Reads. She adds, “It has since matched that boldness with an ambitious $220B outlay to fund the event, spending up to $10B on the stadia alone. That is a 150% rise from the $4B it has initially budgeted for the same.”
The remaining $210B has gone into developing the tournament’s supporting infrastructure. These expenses aren’t tournament-specific but align with Qatar’s National Vision (QNV) 2030 plan. QNV envisions a first-class state with a cutting-edge infrastructure, of which WC 2022 has been the catalyst.
Did Qatar Bribe its Way to Hosting WC 2022?
Qatar WC 2022 could be the most expensive tournament we will see in a while. But it has also come with its fair share of controversies. The most pronounced of these is that Qatar bribed its way to the rights. For example, Jack Warner, an ex-FIFA VP, claimed in 2011 that Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam “bought” Qatar’s WC 2022 hosting rights.
The Sunday Times also suggested Hammam paid football officials up to $5 million to throw their weight behind Qatar’s bid. In another 2019 expose, the paper alleged that Al-Jazeera had paid FIFA some $880 million pending the determination of the TV rights. The Doha-based broadcaster went on to win the exclusive screening rights to the showcase.
Qatar has Faced Accusations Of Condoning Human rights abuse
The country has also drawn criticism for its human rights record. For instance, Amnesty International (AI) has called out Qatar for its reluctance to probe the deaths of nearly 15,000 immigrant workers engaged in the Qatar WC 2022 project in the last decade. The rights watchdog has linked their deaths to unsafe working conditions.
While the Qatar government has acknowledged the problem’s existence, it has remained mum on the casualties registered over the event’s preparation stages. But it has made steps to better the welfare of migrant workers. For instance, in 2017, it enacted legislation protecting foreign workers.
