Qatar hosting two Club World Cups is an odd choice

  • file-photo-view-shows-the-khalifa-international-stadium-in-doha

On Monday, FIFA confirmed that the 2019 and 2020 Club World Cup tournaments will be played in Qatar.

For Qatar, it is a chance to test out stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and would give them a chance to test out plans for fan zones and the sale of alcohol to fans, and learn from the experience ahead of Qatar 2022, reported Frobes.

The proposed Club World Cup enlargement faces opposition from clubs in Europe, and one of the justifications for the revamp is that the current Club World Cup is “unloved”.

Part of that is because it is played in the middle of the European season when soccer fans have plenty of other games to choose from. Another factor is the location.

Since the Club World Cup 2005, the tournament has only been played in Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

FIFA talks about growing the game and taking it to new regions, which is fair enough when it does actually “grow the game”, but at the same time, it is alienating the fans of the clubs that are playing in these games. 

The decision to play the Club World Cup in Qatar shows that FIFA hasn’t learned anything. These decisions are a huge part of what has made the Club World Cup “unloved”. The tournament’s average attendances in Japan and Morocco were around 30,000. The attendance figures probably won’t be much lower for the upcoming tournaments in Qatar, and if they are, how many of those fans will actually be traveling from Liverpool or South America to watch their team?

Without the passion of supporters who watch their teams every week, is it any wonder why the Club World Cup feels like a bunch of glorified friendly games? If it were played in Madrid or Rio de Janiero then the tournament would create a buzz that would attract TV viewers and sponsors alike. Creating this kind of atmosphere at the tournament will be the real challenge for Qatar’s organizing committee.

The geopolitics at play also makes Qatar seem a bit of an odd choice, especially as a lot of FIFA members are still unhappy about the country being awarded the 2022 World Cup.

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