Soccer meets politics at Doha’s Mohammed Abdul Wahhab Mosque (Play the Game)_
Qatar’s increasing engagement in European soccer and international sport
is just
one leg in the small Gulf State’s high-risk attempts to position itself
as a global player
‘on the right side of history’. But the accompanying social and
political changes also
spark local opposition in a conservative culture, James M. Dorsey
writes in his second
analysis on the Gulf State’s growing influence in international sport.
20 April 2012
Mohammed Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha. Photo: Omar
Chatriwala/Flickr
|
A multi-domed, sand-coloured, architectural marvel, Doha’s newest
and biggest
mosque, symbolizes both Qatar’s bold storm into the 21st century and
the pitfalls
that that march entails. It’s not the mosque itself that raises
eyebrows but its
naming after an 18th century warrior priest, Sheikh Mohammed Abdul
Wahhab,
the founder of Islam’s most puritan sect
Ironically, the mosque owes its naming to the debate Qatar’s winning of
the right to
host the 2022 World Cup has
sparked. It is a debate that goes to the heart of the
energy-rich Gulf state’s identity and the place its ruler, Emir Hamad
bin Khalifa al
Thani, wants to carve out for his tiny city-state.
The World Cup constitutes a centrepiece of a strategy that seeks to
reshape the
identity of the world’s only state outside of Saudi Arabia that adheres
to
Wahhabism, one of Islam’s most austere and restrictive interpretations
of Islam;
position Qatar as a global player capable of punching above its weight;
create
opportunities to leverage its enormous wealth in a bid to reduce its
reliance on
the export of one commodity; and enhance its security by establishing
mutually
beneficial relations with friend and foe and ensuring that it is at the
cutting edge
of history.
The sports leg of Qatar’s broader, high-risk geo-political, economic
and media
strategy – involving the creation of a world class airline, Qatar
Airways; Al
Jazeera as a cutting edge global broadcaster; a far more liberal
interpretation of
Wahhabism than that of Saudi Arabia and support for many of the popular
uprisings
sweeping the Middle East and North Africa – is emerging as a driver of
imminent
restructuring of the region’s soccer landscape as well as of social
change.
To achieve his goal, Emir Hamad has embarked on a buying spree of
European soccer
assets such as Paris Saint Germain and top league European broadcast
rights as well
as big ticket sponsorship agreements with the likes of FC Barcelona and
the Tour de
France, multiple bids for the hosting of international sports
tournaments and the
construction of world class infrastructure at a cost of tens of
billions of dollar.
The strategy, which has exposed Qatar to an unprecedented degree of
international
scrutiny, has already succeeded in putting Qatar with a population of
some 1.7 million
of which some two thirds are expatriates on the global map. Doha’s
massive
international airport is even before its completion an international
hub connecting the
world’s seven continents. Al Jazeera competes with the BBC as the
world’s foremost
global broadcaster while Qatari businessmen are beginning to reap
benefits in terms of
business opportunities from their country’s investment in sports. Doha
is a sought after
venue for disputing parties such as the United States and the Taliban,
bitterly divided
Palestinian factions and warring parties in Sudan, to find a way to
bridge their differences.
It is a strategy that envisions cost outstripping material benefit for
years to come with
some individual components producing tangible results quicker than
others. In many ways
however, the intangibles – regional and political change, global
positioning and the
benefits of being on the right side of history – are as if not more
important than a
bookkeeper’s calculation of outlays and revenues.
Sparking opposition in the emir’s backyard
Yet, it is those intangibles that are sparking opposition in Emir Hamad’s
own backyard to
the social and economic changes necessary to transform Qatar into a
global sports hub and the political and diplomatic path on which the Gulf state has embarked
that is likely to
produce a region very different from the one conservative Wahhabis
envision. These
intangibles challenge a religious and cultural environment that
discourages women’s
involvement in sports, often sees Western-style entertainment and fun
as irreligious,
opposes the kind of political change sweeping the Middle East and North
Africa and
favours government and society’s uncompromising adherence to Islamic
law.
In the latest spat, conservative Qataris, including members of the
royal family, quietly
backed by Saudi Arabia have challenged the emir’s authority to allow the
sale of alcohol
and pork to non-Muslims. The conservative opposition has already
prompted the ban
of alcohol on a man-made island largely frequented by expatriates, a
decision to make
Arabic rather than English the language of instruction in education and
a boycott of
Qatar Airways. So far both sides have scored points. Sports has been
exempted from the
imposition of Arabic as the language of instruction while the
naming of the mosque
after Sheikh Mohammed throws a bone to the conservatives albeit one that
is unlikely
to satisfy them.
Asian Cup in 2010 in Qatar. Photo: lefty1007/Flickr
Beyond forging a national identity, sports serves also as an effort to
pre-empt the
kind of youth-led rebellion that has been rocking much of the region
for the past
16 months. “Our goal is to create a dialogue that resonates with and
talks to the
youth. This is an opportunity to inspire and engage young people….
Sports are at
the heart of Qatar’s development… Sports like education and arts are
part of our
national identity,” Noora Al Mannai, CEO of Qatar’s bid to win the
right to host the
2020 Olympic Games, told a recent brainstorm in Qatar designed to
define the role
of government, NGOs and business in sports. She described “empowering
young
people” as one reason for the bid alongside Qatar’s efforts to mediate
conflicts and
reduce regional obesity and diabetes levels.
Sport as a trigger for social change
Nonetheless, sports are likely to spark a social revolution of sorts as
long as the emir
is able to keep the conservatives in check. For one, it is forcing
Qatar to become the
first wealthy Gulf state dependent on expatriate labour to
significantly improve
working conditions and the legal environment of expatriate workers in
line with
international standards. It is however not clear yet whether that will
also mean
legalizing the existence of trade unions.
With international trade unions threatening a global campaign under the
slogan
'No World Cup in Qatar without labour rights,' Qatar has further vowed
to ensure
that contractors involved in preparations for the 2022 World Cup will
adhere to
international labour laws.
Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi
conceded
early this year that "major sporting events shed a spotlight on
conditions in
countries. There are labour issues here in the country, but Qatar is
committed to
reform. We will require that contractors impose a clause to ensure that
international labour standards are met. Sport and football in
particular, is a very
powerful force. Certainly we can use it for the benefit of the
region."
Qatar and other oil-rich Gulf states have long been targeted by labour
organizations
for their treatment of particularly unskilled and low-skilled workers.
Qatar like the
UAE and others in the Gulf operates a sponsorship program under which
all foreign
workers have to have a local sponsor who can make seeking alternative
employment
or another sponsor difficult and who often retains the worker’s
passport on
employment. Trade unionists argue that the lack of a minimum wage
further
enhances exploitation of labour.
The issue of workers’ rights touches a raw nerve in countries like
Qatar and the UAE
where the local population constitutes a minority. Gulf states are
concerned that
improving labour conditions would not only have economic consequences
but also
give foreigners a greater stake in a society which ensures they are
forced to leave the
country once their contract has ended.
Qatar’s employment of sports to project itself internationally coupled
with pressure
from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also prompted Qatar
to field
women’s athletes for the first time in its history at this year’s
London Olympics. Qatar
alongside Saudi Arabia, which is still struggling with how to respond
to the IOC, and
Brunei, is the only country never to have been represented by women at
an
international tournament. To be fair, women in Qatar, in contrast to
their sisters in
Saudi Arabia, are by and large subject to far less restrictions.
Increasing professionalization and commercialization in the region
Finally, in a part of the world where sports and particularly soccer
are often a
battlefield for political, ethnic, religious and gender rights, Qatar’s
successful bid for
the 2022 World Cup has sparked a growing push towards
professionalization,
commercialization and the creation of a proper football industry as a
key to
unlocking economic opportunity.
For many in the region, last year’s Asia Cup final in Doha, in which
half of the
competing teams hailed from the Middle East with not one reaching the
semi-finals,
constituted a wake-up call. It is an experience, Middle Eastern leaders
and soccer
officials do not want repeated at the Qatar World Cup.
"Something is moving," says Santino Saguto, an Italian soccer
management
consultant based in Dubai. "Qatar 2022 has prompted the region to
discuss ways to
create value. The leagues, the football associations and the media are
starting to buy
into the concept. That's how it started in Europe."
The UAE took a first step a few years ago when for the first time it
marketed the rights
to broadcast its league matches – a key step in generating revenue and
creating value.
The UAE example is reportedly being discussed by Saudi Arabia, the
region's most
important league beyond Egypt.
That is not to say that the UAE's blazing of the trail is not without
its birth pangs.
Commercial broadcasters charge that state-owned networks distort
competition by
paying exorbitant amounts for the exclusive right to broadcast major
football events.
They point to Al Jazeera's clinching of the right to broadcast the 2018
and 2022 Fifa
World Cups for an undisclosed amount believed to be in excess of US$3
billion.
Abu Dhabi Media Company, owned by the royal family, was moreover
awarded the
exclusive rights to air the English Premier League in the UAE.
James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of
International
Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the
author of the blog,
Comments
Post a Comment