Will Qatar’s blockade affect its FIFA World Cup dreams?

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.  The economic fallout from the announcement was both immediate and devastating Qatar’s stock market index sank 8 percent.

According to AP, this gulf rift has sent the price of crude oil higher.
The country is due to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, a tournament whose preparations could be greatly delayed by the financial implications of the isolation.

The isolation of Qatar will have a knock-on effect on Qatar’s hopes of hosting the World Cup in 2022.

Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the US-based Baker Institute, told Reuters that if Qatar’s land borders and airspace were closed for any length of time “it would wreak havoc on the timeline and delivery” of the World Cup.

FIFA says it remains in “regular contact with Qatar” amid a growing diplomatic crisis between it and other Arab countries.

The international football governing body issued a short statement on Monday saying it spoke with “the Qatar 2022 Local Organizing Committee and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy handling matters relating to the 2022 FIFA World Cup”.

It said, “We have no further comments for the time being.” The diplomatic blockade also threatens to damage Qatar’s international prestige –something that the nation, and its World Cup ambitions, are banking on.

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Though the Qatar World Cup is still five years away, the nation is building its footballing infrastructure from nearly the ground up.  In order to fast-track the preparations, Qatar had to employ labour en masse from other nations, including India. This resulted in the inauguration of the Khalifa stadium in Doha on 19 May. The new blockade can, however, pose a challenge to the fast pace of construction, which is especially troubling given the fact that the construction of two stadiums are yet to begin.

Major Arabian peninsular airlines such as Etihad, Emirates and Fly Dubai have cancelled all flights to and from the Qatari capital Doha from early Tuesday that could delay the transport of important resources and personnel.