5 Outstanding Achievements Qatar Has Made in Sports This Decade

Qatar is one of the most vastly improving countries in the Gulf region and is making quick progress in sports. Sports in Qatar is primarily centered around football and the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar is the next big sporting event in the country. Preparations at the moment are in full swing to make the event a grand success. Additionally, athletics, basketball, handball, volleyball, camel racing, horse racing, cricket and swimming are also widely practiced. There are currently 11 multi-sports clubs in the country and 7 single-sports clubs.

As we are about to end this year, we take a look at five outstanding achievements Qatar made on the sporting front between 2010 and 2019. 

2010: Qatar Wins Hosting Rights For FIFA World Cup 2022

Beating rival nations like Australia, the United States, South Korea, and Japan, Qatar won the hosting rights for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. It will become the first middle eastern country to host the FIFA World Cup. Under its proposal to FIFA, Qatar will build 9 new stadiums and renovate 3, with the 12 venues divided among 7 host cities. The 7 host cities are Al-Daayen, Al-Khor, Al-Rayyan, Al-Shamal, Al-Wakrah, Doha and Umm Slal. The tournament is expected to generate humongous revenue which in turn will provide employment to numerous local people of Qatar. With Qatar already famous for its culture in football, the FIFA World Cup in 2022 will truely big the country to the world map of the game. 

2012: Qatar Won Two Bronze Medals in the Summer Olympics in London

Qatar made a mark in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by winning two bronze medals in different sporting disciplines. Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatar Rally Driver, Sport Shooter and Sheikh. He is a 13-time Middle East Rally Champion and has many other acclaims to his name in the motor sporting discipline. He currently competes in the World Rally Championship and Middle East Rally Championship for the Qatar World Rally Team. In the 2012 London Olympics, Al-Attiyah won the bronze medal in the men’s skeet event. 

2012: Mutaz Essa Barshim Wins Bronze Medal in High-Jump in the Summer Olympics in London

Barshim who is a reputed athlete in Qatar won the bronze medal in the Summer Olympics in 2012 in London. He is someone who specialize in high-jump and is one of the most talented Qatarian athletes. Apart from his achievement in the London Olympics, Bardhim has several other medals to his name. He won a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London and at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics in Doha. Barshim also won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He was earlier the Asian Indoor and World Junior champion in 2010, and won the high jump gold medals at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships and 2011 Military World Games.

2019: Qatar Hosts Fifa Club World Cup

The 16th edition of the Fifa Club World Cup was hosted by Qatar earlier this month. The tournament was played between 11 to 21 December and was won by Liverpool when they defeated Flamengo 1-0. The tournament was a great success and Qatar will once again host the Fifa Club World Cup next year as it will be a dress rehearsal and a process of test evets before they get set to hist the 2022 Fifa World Cup. The final was played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha with over 45000 spectators witnessing the game. There were 31 goals scored in the tournament with a total attendance of 166,426 (20,803 per match). The success of the Club Football World Cup was one of the defining moments in this decade of sporting excellence in Qatar. 

2019: Qatar Hosts World Athletics Championship

Before the Fifa Club World Cup was held in Qatar, Doha hosted the IAAF World Athletics Championship from 27th September to 6 October.1,772 athletes from 206 teams competed in 49 athletics events over the ten-day competition, comprising 24 events each for men and women, plus a mixed relay. There were 43 track and field events, 4 racewalking events, and 2 marathon road running events. The racewalking and marathon events were held in Doha Corniche. Previously known as World Championships in Athletics, this was the first time the event was held with a new name. A total of 43 nations reached the medal table, and 68 nations had an athlete with a top-eight finish.

As a new decade starts, Qatar has its sight set on hosting the biggest event of football in 2022. The success of the various sporting disciplines in the past decade has brought Qatar on the world map of sport. Sports is one of the biggest sources of employment in the country after oil and the various other business ventures and in future will certainly play a big role in influencing the economy of the country.