ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the various factors behind Qatar’s decision to bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and assesses whether the 12-year-long cycle of preparation and planning met or defied the expectations of Qatari officials since 2010. Three opening sections explore the degree to which the hosting of the FIFA World Cup has been guided by (and intended to contribute to) a desire to extend Qatari soft power, state branding, or nation building. A common thread in each of the sections is whether the long 2022 World Cup cycle has supported or undermined the broader geopolitical objectives of a country and a leadership that has consistently sought for itself an outsize role in regional and international affairs.
