ABSTRACT
The majority of research on Qatar’s sporting investments and endeavours has focused on how the state seeks to use sport to achieve specific foreign policy aims – related, in particular, to showcasing to global audiences what Qatar has to offer, be that in terms of its cultural attractions, its trade and investment opportunities or the hospitality of its citizenry. In other words, Qatar’s use of sport has been shown to act as a vital cog in the state’s ‘soft power’ efforts. In this chapter, rather focusing on how Qatar’s investment in sport fits in with its global soft power portfolio, I instead seek to shed light on how investment in sport seeks to be used to impact developments at home, with particular reference to raising the state’s human capital. This is not to suggest that the said developments do not have relevance to Qatar’s international agenda. In fact, I show how successful human capital advances at home can significantly add to a state’s soft power abroad. The findings presented in this chapter have emerged from 17 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2015 with key officials located within Qatar’s health, education, policy and sports sectors. Interviewee data suggests that Qatari authorities view sport as a vital mechanism through which to confront two key concerns at the domestic level: first, to help take Qataris through a maturity process, one which encourages them to take greater charge of their own lives, and thus rely less on the state and its generous subsidies; and second, to encourage Qataris to increase their sport and physical activity engagement in order to address worrying issues linked to high diabetes and obesity rates. The chapter concludes, nonetheless, by identifying a number of stumbling blocks Qatar will have to overcome if it is to be successful in using sport in such a manner.
