This is a new figure that will make people talk. According to our colleagues from Front Office Sports, Qatar is said to have spent 220 billion euros on the World Cup, five times more than the organizers of the last seven World Cups combined.
As we know since the formalization of Qatar’s candidacy, the objective of the Middle Eastern country was to use sport as a means of influence and international influence. The takeover of PSG, the sponsorship via Qatar Airways of Barça in the past and the organization of several international competitions are additional signs of this.
In terms of costs, the costs related to the construction of new stadiums would be between 6.5 and 10 billion dollars but would in reality be only a small part of the total envelope, amounting to around 220 billion dollars. dollars. This figure is mainly due to a broader desire to develop the country by building hotels, quality underground transport or airports. In reality, the World Cup has, in a way, served as an impetus for the construction of many quality infrastructures.
That the figure may seem disproportionate is one thing, but the desire to develop the country seems positive. Except that there remains a big black spot that Qatar will not be able to get rid of: the situation of workers. Numerous shortcomings have been observed concerning the working conditions of the workers, often migrants with a more than doubtful contractual situation, and 6,500 workers have even lost their lives according to the figures put forward by the Guardian. Add to that the suspicions of corruption during the awarding of the World Cup, the fact that it is played in winter and the ecological disaster it represents with air-conditioned halls and you have the most controversial World Cup for a long time, maybe even history.
