Qatar is showing great capability to host a highly-successful FIFA World Cup 2022 by staging multiple sports blockbusters, particularly in the recent weeks.
After a hectic January, Qatar continued to stage high-profile competitions in February, which includes back-to-back tennis tournaments – the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the Qatar TotalEnergies Open – at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut won the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, which saw participation of many prominent names in men’s tennis including Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andy Murray of Great Britain. The star-studded WTA Qatar TotalEnergies Open, which concluded on Saturday, was won by World No 8 Iga Swiatek of Poland as both the tournaments, which were held under the COVID-19 protocols, attracted a good number of spectators.
Qatar also organised major horse racing and equestrian events in February, with participants from all parts of the world taking part in these contests. After a successful Amir’s Sword Festival 2022 at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, the country organised CHI Al Shaqab, featuring world’s best riders and horses. Fans continued to turn out in big numbers throughout the competition, with Germany’s Marcus Ehning claiming the top prize after his Grand Prix triumph with 11-year-old bay Stargold. There was plenty of local sports action too, with Al Sadd retaining their QNB Stars League (QSL) title after another dominant season.
More top-notch events are lined up for March, which will see the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar (MotoGP) at the Losail International Circuit next weekend. The event, which attracts top riders, is one of the highly-anticipated competitions on Qatar sports calendar. The magnificent Longines Arena at Al Shaqab will host the opening leg of 2022 Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL from March 3 to 5. Top riders and horses are confirmed to take part in the event.
Football fans will have a lot to enjoy as well as Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria will travel to Qatar to play friendly matches from March 26 to 29. Qatar will also play friendlies against Bulgaria (March 26th) and Slovenia (March 29th). In golf, Doha Golf Club will host the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – a popular European Tour golf - from March 24 to 27. The hosting of major international competitions will help Qatar fine tune their organisational skills ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, which is expected to bring 1.5 million fans to the country.
