FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 may have lost many battles but won the war

The FIFA World Cup 2022 edition was a magnanimous affair which came to a fitting end on Sunday (December 18). With Argentina and defending champions France setting up a clash in the big-ticket finale, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, the contest was expected to go down to the wire. The summit clash lived up to expectations with Lionel Messi achieving his dream of lifting his maiden WC trophy in his last appearance in the mega event; bringing curtains to what has been an eventful and exhilarating campaign in Qatar.

Undoubtedly, Qatar 2022 ended as one of the best-organised World Cups. The fate of the mega event was hanging in the balance in the run-up to the tournament, which was held in the Middle East for the first time. Nothing came easy for Qatar -- who were constantly marred with several questions (by human rights activists, media, etc.) with fans also having their doubts regarding the smooth runningof the showpiece event. Qatar 2022 battled all odds to emerge on top. From alot being said and written about the plightof migrant workers, Western media trying to tarnish Qatar's image of pulling off an event of such a magnitude, War-tainted Russia's ban, ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter regrettinghis decision to award hosting rights to Qatar, the country's rigid stanceon the LGBTQ community, the death of journalists, etc. (with evenUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's request of spreading the message of peace ahead of the finale being much-talked about before FIFA's eventualrejection), many such aspects hit the headlines. Hence, there was a lot at stake. However, the tournament ended in style -- producing some enthralling results, upsets and the emergence of theAfrican, Asian and Arab football teams -- for all involved.

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Qatar lost some battles en route winning the WAR

The migrant workers' plight

Qatar, a country where foreigners account for the majority of the 2.9 million population, faced intense criticism from human rights groups regarding its treatment of migrant workers. It is to be noted that Britain’s Guardian reported, in 2021,that at least 6,500 migrant workers — many of them working on World Cup projects — had succumbed to death in Qatar. In response to such claims, Qatar said that thedeaths were directly proportionate to the size of the migrant workforce -- includingmany non-manual workers. In addition, it stated that every life lost was indeed a tragedy!

Death of journos

Khalid al-Misslam, Roger Pearce and Grant Wahl were the three journalists who lost their lives during the Qatar WC -- adding much hullabaloo to the already-existing negativity. FIFA Director of Media Relations Bryan Swanson revealed on social media that books are available at each stadium's media centre for colleagues to send condolence messages. However, the damage was long done by then.

Sharing an image of the three books devoted to the late journalists, Swanson wrote,"We are opening books of condolence in the FIFA media centres at all remaining stadiums following the tragic deaths of Khalid al-Misslam, Roger Pearce and Grant Wahl during this tournament. Thoughts remain with their families and friends during this difficult time."

LGBTQ stance

It is to be noted that homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and a punishable offence -- where one can be jailed up to three years. Hence, many diehard LGBTQ football fans revealed that they would prefer to watch Qatar 2022 on tv sets at home than risk their lives travelling to the Middle East. To control the matters from going out of hand, aQatar government official told CNN in a statement, "Everyone is welcome in Qatar,” the statement read, adding: “Our track record has shown that we have warmly welcomed all people regardless of background. There has never been an issue and every event has been delivered safely. Everyone is welcome in Qatar, but we are a conservative country and any public display of affection, regardless of orientation, is frowned upon. We simply ask for people to respect our culture."

Rejecting 'fake claims'

Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee also came forward and rejected accusations when news started circulating that there are fake paid football fans in attendance at the World Cup.In a statement, the Supreme Committee shut all such allegations and termed it“disappointing and unsurprising”.

“Fans from all over the world – many of whom have made Qatar their home – have contributed to the local atmosphere recently, organising fan walks and parades throughout the country, and welcoming the various national teams at their hotels,” it said in a statement. “Numerous journalists and commentators on social media have questioned whether these are ‘real’ fans. We thoroughly reject these assertions, which are both disappointing and unsurprising.”

In addition, Iranian protests over their government's imposition of hijab -- forcing the latter to ease out on few aspects -- and China's protests against their government's Zero-Covid policy (after seeing fans in Qatar, on tv sets, enter stadiums without any COVID protocol whatsoever) also grabbed eyeballs.

The ball does the talking making Qatar 2022 a blockbuster success

Thus, there was plenty on Qatar's plate with none trusting their capabilities. Nonetheless, the ball did the talking on their behalf; resulting in many humdingers before the mother-of-all-clash in thefinale. The likes of Saudi Arabia, Japan, Morocco, etc. made a mark which made for a riveting watch. Saudi, ranked 51st in the world, went past eventual winners Argentina, Morocco became the first-ever African nation to reach the last four and Japan toppled past winners such as Germany and Spain.

Among the young rising talents, the likes ofJude Bellingham (England),Cody Gakpo (Netherlands),Goncalo Ramos (Portugal),Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Josko Gvardiol (Croatia), etc. ended as the breakout stars. Meanwhile, notable stars Neymar Jr. Cristiano Ronaldo, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, etc., failed to deliver as per their overall stature. Among some emphatic encounters, Argentina-France, Argentina-Netherlands, Japan-Germany, Croatia-Brazil, Morocco-Portugal, Portugal-Ghana, France-England and many others kept football fanatics awake till late at night across the globe.

While a lot can be said and written about rules/laws in the Middle East nation, Qatar can be proud of hosting the WC for the first time with people set to remember the footballing action than the off-field controversies (some of them coming from targetted groups). The going was tough but they sure went past all obstacles to host a memorable event; paving way for many more FIFA WCs to be held in Asia.

On Monday, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen shared a heartfelt note for Qatar. Here's what he wrote:

A football tournament without hooligans. And being at last years Wembley disgrace & now in Qatar, Qatar is the standout!
Maybe EVERY football tournament can be in the Middle East so our fan experience can be memorable!

Well, Qatar 2022 was off to a poor start but held its nerves to end it on a glorious high!