Events hosting plays a key role in Qatar's sports industry development

In the past decade or more, Qatar has started to assert itself in the world of global sports. It has achieved this mainly through its athletics federation and Olympic committee. The government has also made efforts to expand the role of sports and related industries, such as sports medicine, logistics and security, to create more opportunities for high-value, skilled labour in the country. It is hoped that the increasing popularity of sports in Qatar will encourage its citizens to pursue more active and healthy lifestyles. If this is the case, the sector has a lot of potential not only to bolster overall economic growth, but also improve the well-being of the country’s residents.

Host To The World

When FIFA selected Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it came as a surprise to many on the international sports scene. However, stakeholders within the country had seen the bid application gathering steam for years, fuelled by the efforts of state, corporate and non-governmental stakeholders to build athletics infrastructure, recruit foreign expertise and cultivate local talent.

The country’s first major breakthrough was in November 2000, when the Olympic Committee of Asia awarded Doha the 2006 hosting rights for the Asian Games, the second-largest multi-sport event in the world. Following this success, Qatar went on to host the 2010 World Indoor Athletics Championships, the 2011 Asian Football Confederation Cup and the 2011 Pan Arab Games. These high-profile international sporting events have provided opportunities for Qatar to demonstrate its growing sports facilities, hotel stock and transport infrastructure.

Despite these positive developments, Qatar’s successful 2022 FIFA World Cup bid engendered controversy and criticism among some observers. Furthermore, the ongoing corruption investigations of former and current figures from world football and FIFA have led to questions regarding Qatar’s selection to host the tournament, despite the fact that FIFA released a report in November 2014 clearing Qatar of any wrongdoing during the bidding process.

Nevertheless, since being awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, the country has not rested on its laurels. In November 2014 Qatar won hosting rights to the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Months later, in January 2015, it hosted the World Men’s Handball Championship and in October 2015 the International Boxing Association World Championship. The event attracted around 500m viewers worldwide, Yousef Ali Al Kazim, president of the Qatar Boxing Federation, told international media following the event. The same year saw Qatar host the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, and in February 2016 the Union Cycliste Internationale Road World Championships also came to the country. Future events on Qatar’s calendar include the 2018 Gymnastics World Cup held by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG).

Major Players

Coordinating the country’s bidding processes is the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC). Formed in March 1979, the QOC has a mandate to promote athletics and physical development throughout the country. In May 2015, after 15 years under the leadership of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the QOC’s General Assembly elected Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the younger brother of his predecessor, as its president. Sheikh Joaan’s role is set to last at least until the end of 2016.

In addition to the QOC, the Ministry of Culture and Sports (MCS), which was created when the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage was merged with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, also works to develop a sporting culture among Qatari citizens. Led by Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, the ministry promotes sports by encouraging school athletics, organising activities, and regulating sports and youth associations. It currently administers more than 15 sports clubs across Qatar’s municipalities. While the QOC oversees all Olympic sports, all non-Olympic sports fall within the remit of the MCS.

World Cup Build-Up

To oversee and coordinate critical infrastructure projects in the lead-up to the tournament, the government created the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC). The body is not only responsible for delivering 2022 FIFA World Cup projects, but also for ensuring that Qatar enjoys lasting social and economic benefits from the event. Preparations for the tournament are set to cost at least $200bn, according to a 2013 report from consultancy Deloitte. While many of the projects related to the event, such as a 300-km metro system, a 40-km light rail network and the new city of Lusail, were part of existing development plans, they gained new focus and a hard deadline with the 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.

Qatar’s 2016 budget reflects the government’s continued commitment to supporting sports development, despite a fall in overall revenue due to lower oil and gas prices. Between March 2014 and March 2015, government revenues dropped by just under 16%, according to data from the “Qatar Economic Outlook 2015-17”, published by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.

In budget estimates for 2016, Qatari authorities said that they expected to collect QR156bn ($42.8bn) in revenues and spend QR202.5bn ($55.6bn). A fair portion of this spending was set aside for projects related to the country’s preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with plans to spend QR87bn ($23.9bn) on transport and QR54bn ($14.8bn) on other infrastructure in 2016, Ali Shareef Al Emadi, minister of finance, said at his budget presentation in December 2015. In addition to these allocations, Al Emadi announced that QR24bn ($6.6bn) had been budgeted for sports-specific government projects.

Stadium Projects

To host the football matches themselves, the SC has been working to erect five new stadia and execute large-scale renovations on another. “We are actually working on six proposed stadia for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and we have launched the design of five of them,” Hilal Al Kuwari, chairman of the Technical Delivery Office at the SC, said in a statement in December 2015.

Major renovation work at the 30-year-old Khalifa International Stadium in the western outskirts of downtown Doha began in 2014 and will see the structure’s capacity boosted from 20,000 to 40,000. “We are very happy with the rapid progress of renovation works at the site,” Mansoor Saleh Al Muhannadi, project manager at Aspire Zone Foundation, which is leading the project, told local media in September 2015. “We expect the stadium to be handed over by the main contractor at the end of 2016.”

Construction on the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium, located 50 km north-east of Doha in the Al Khor municipality, is also moving forward. In July 2015 Qatari contractor Galfar Al Misnad signed a QR3.1bn ($851m) construction, operation and maintenance contract for the stadium and precinct with two Italian firms, Salini Impregilo Group and Cimolai. KEO International Consultants is overseeing work on the stadium, Al Khor City and the surrounding precinct, and consultancy firm Dar Al Handasah and management company Projacs were recruited for the design phase of the stadium and precinct.

In December 2015 SC awarded the Al Wakrah Stadium tender to a joint venture formed between Qatari Midmac and Austria-based Porr. Located approximately 15 km south of Doha, the 40,000-seat stadium is set to host matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage, round-of-16 and quarter-final matches. American engineering firm AECOM was appointed to design the stadium in association with London-based Zaha Hadid Architects. AECOM is also serving as the design consultant on the project, which is being managed by KEO International Consultants. Following the tournament, Al Wakrah’s seating will decrease to 20,000 with the removal of temporary, modular upper-tier seating, the pieces of which are set to be given to developing countries lacking stadia. Construction is expected to be completed in 2018.

Meanwhile, work at the 40,000-seat Qatar Foundation Stadium began in 2013 and is expected to be finished by 2019, with Qatari firm ASTAD Project Management leading the development and Spanish group RFA Fenwick Iribarren Architects serving as lead design consultant. Lastly, in 2014 work started on both Al Rayyan Stadium and Lusail Iconic Stadium with completion of the two facilities expected in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The former will seat 40,000 spectators and is being project managed by AECOM, with Denmark-based Ramboll responsible for design.

ICSS

With their propensity to attract large crowds to enclosed areas, major sporting events pose significant security challenges, which have come to the fore in recent years. The Qatar-based non-profit International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) works to tackle these issues through sports security research and services. The group’s founder, Mohammad Hanzab, said he had the idea for the organisation during the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, when concerns for spectator security were prominent. ICSS focuses on threat and risk assessments, venue security design and specialist training for sports safety and security professionals. About 70% of the organisation’s average annual budget of $20m is provided by the Qatari state, while the remainder comes from clients that include football federations in Spain, Italy, Germany and Brazil.

ICSS has also been vocal about corruption in sports – an issue that has increasingly found its way into news headlines because of the ongoing Swiss and US investigations into corruption allegations at FIFA. In June 2015 ICSS representatives arrived in Washington, DC to talk about boosting transparency in the bidding processes for major sporting events and combatting corruption in the industry.

A 2014 joint research project published by ICSS and Paris-Sorbonne University indicated that betting on sports facilitates an estimated $140bn of money laundering each year. In November 2015 ICSS held its fourth annual Securing Sport conference in New York City with the theme “Accountability in Sport” to discuss sports corruption issues.

Sports Media

Qatar has also been making a name for itself in sports broadcasting. As part of a wider drive to develop the country’s media landscape, authorities have supported the development of Al Jazeera, Al Kass Sports Channel and other institutions to kickstart the sector. Out of these efforts has emerged beIN Media Group, which was incorporated in January 2014 and became the new independent holding company of beIN Sports. The company is now a major media player, with 34 channels in 33 countries and plans to expand into the entertainment segment.

Qatar’s relationship with established markets in Europe and fast-growing markets elsewhere has facilitated the rapid development of the firm’s reach and scale. “We have been able to build very quickly,” Duncan Walkinshaw, manager of English programmes at beIN Sports, told OBG. “We can make programmes here that are simultaneously broadcast around the world.” The presence of an active media sector also affords opportunities for students who are interested in sports broadcasting careers. “There is a commitment to utilising local talent across the firm’s departments, English included,” Walkinshaw said. “Some of the standards of the graduates are staggering.”

Aspire 

Other segments of the Qatari sports industry are expanding alongside the sports broadcasting segment. The epicentre of most of these developments is the Aspire Zone, a 250-ha plot just outside Doha that includes a sports academy, logistics unit and health centre. Created in 2008 from the former Sports City project, Aspire Zone represents a major investment in sports facilities, with Khalifa International Stadium at its heart. The Aspire Zone is also home to the Aspire Dome, the world’s largest indoor, multipurpose sports stadium with a seating capacity of 15,500 spread across 13 sports halls. Other facilities include the 4500-seat Hamad Aquatic Centre and the 2500-person capacity Ladies Sports Hall.

While sports development requires significant physical capital, it also requires substantial human capital. The country’s Aspire Academy works to fulfil this demand, training potential athletes from seventh to 12th grade in its preparatory and secondary programmes. Using its three-phase talent identification programme, both domestically and around the world, the academy identifies promising future athletes and offers them scholarships to attend Aspire Academy. There they receive special athletic training alongside a full academic curriculum. Since its foundation in 2004, the talent identification programme has assessed more than 38,000 students in Qatar’s primary schools. In October 2015 Aspire Academy and Qatar’s Supreme Education Council signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening talent identification in the country’s state-funded independent school system.

Another sports facility at Aspire Zone is Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, which was established in 2009 with the aim of improving the quality of sports medicine in the country. Since its launch, it has grown to supply 18 clubs and 24 federations with treatment. In November 2014 Aspetar announced a three-year partnership with French football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to provide health assessments of athletes and other services.

Aspire Logistics, meanwhile, handles event planning and venue management. It delivered 56 projects with a combined value of QR47m ($12.9m) in FY 2013/14, up from 32 projects in FY 2012/13. It also managed several major events throughout 2015, including the International Handball Federation’s World Handball Championship and the FIG Gymnastics World Cup.

Anti-Doping Laboratory Qatar (ADLQ) is another world-class sports facility situated at Aspire Zone. Inaugurated in December 2012, ADLQ is built to provide testing for all known forms of doping, including testosterone, amphetamines, blood doping, anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, beta blockers and genetic doping. “2015 was an important year for ADLQ as we achieved accreditation from the World Anti-Doping Agency, making us the only accredited lab in the MENA region and the 35th accredited anti-doping lab worldwide,” Mohammed Al Sayrafi, general manager of ADLQ, told OBG. “This is part of the larger vision of the state to develop Qatar as the preeminent sporting hub in the region, and given the number of international athletes and sporting events that we host, it only made sense to have a world-class facility of this nature here in Doha.”

Targeting Investment Abroad 

In addition to investing in its domestic sports industry, the Qatari government is also looking to tap potential abroad. Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) plays a central role in achieving this goal. The state-funded private investment group focuses on sports-related projects around the world, with the ultimate goal of raising revenue that can be reinvested in Qatar.

Led by Nasser Ghanim Al Khelaifi, the group’s chairman, QSI’s portfolio includes a handful of properties in Qatar as well as high-profile investments abroad. In January 2011 QSI signed a sponsorship agreement with FC Barcelona worth €30m per season. In the same year it also became the majority stakeholder in PSG after purchasing 70% of the team’s shares. One year later it bought the remaining 30% of PSG to become its sole shareholder.

Prior to these investments, in June 2010 Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani of the Qatari royal family bought Malaga football club for a total of €36m. “Our goal is to help Malaga take the necessary steps to consolidate its presence in La Liga and to reinforce the excitement and hopes of the supporters,” Sheikh Abdullah said on the club website.

Beyond sports clubs, QSI also owns BURRDA SPORT, a sportswear company that has been developing its portfolio of athletic equipment partnerships in recent years. The company’s current portfolio of sports apparel for professional sports teams includes kits for the Toulon and Northampton rugby clubs. It is also looking to increase its share of this market, which is expected to generate $184.6bn in revenue by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% over the 2015-20 period, according to a report released by US-based Allied Market Research.

Outlook

With over a decade of dedicated state support and the steady expansion of sports-related industries, Qatar’s sports sector has made impressive gains. As local players like beIN Media Group, ICSS and Aspire keep attracting high-profile clients from around the world, this trend is set to continue. It will be important to maintain this strong momentum while facing potential fiscal headwinds, as the government tapers spending across the board.

One way in which the industry could do this is by generating more of its own revenue through fees and sponsorship deals. Indeed, with athletes wearing Qatari-owned apparel, receiving Qatari sports medical treatment and even training on Qatari soil, the sector is already punching above its weight and has the potential to continue doing so in the future.