Dr. Mahfoud Amara
The 2022-2023 football season in Qatar has been exceptional for several reasons, most notably the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This tournament presented a unique opportunity for the national team to compete on the world stage while playing on home soil.
The immense pressure on the shoulders of the Qatar national team players during the tournament cannot be ignored.
However, the experience proved to be invaluable for the current generation of players and will undoubtedly inspire future generations. Young fans who attended the World Cup matches, whether supporting Qatar or other countries, were undoubtedly inspired by witnessing top international footballers compete at state-of-the-art stadiums surrounded by thousands of passionate supporters from diverse backgrounds. This experience presents a golden opportunity for the national football federation to expand its base of youth club players.
In an effort to best prepare the national team for this momentous occasion, Qatar team management kept World Cup bound players away from domestic football season and opted for offshore training camps. There has been some debate about the impact of this decision on the players’ mental, emotional, and physical performance compared to other national teams whose players continued to play in domestic leagues until mid-November, such as those in the English Premier League (up until November 12/13).
While the rationale was to keep players fit for the national team and manage the expectations of various stakeholders in the football business (media, clubs, and sponsors), it also led to injuries for some star players expected to shine during the World Cup.
After the World Cup, clubs in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) faced the challenge of readjusting to the reality of the domestic league, trying to compensate for the long break both physically and mentally. One of the challenges was to progress in the AFC Champions League, with Al Duhail being the only club from Qatar to progress beyond the group stage and reach the semi-final, losing against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 7-0 in a home game.
The question remains whether the organisation and adjustments made for the FIFA World Cup impacted the overall football level of Qatari clubs in Asia compared to other Asian clubs. A more holistic analysis of the structural aspects of Qatar’s football system is needed. Qatar offers numerous opportunities for football players in the domestic league, including excellent training conditions, welfare, and science provisions. Many foreign players who sign with Qatari clubs are selected to play for their national teams, and their motivations for playing in Qatar are not solely based on financial incentives. Personal motivations, such as cultural preferences, particularly for European players with Arab and Muslim backgrounds, and a desire for a safe and comfortable life for their families, also play a role.
While acknowledging the notable football development in Qatar in the last decade or so in terms of management, marketing and governance, the main challenge for the QSL and the Qatar Football Association is to find the right balance between nurturing local talent to serve the national team, capitalising on the opportunity of the FIFA World Cup, and attracting foreign players who can enhance the domestic league and contribute to the performance of local clubs in Asia.
Although Al Arabi have returned among the top sides of the league this season, the ongoing challenge for the QSL is to balance the overall performance of clubs in the league— dominated by three or four clubs— in terms of recruitment and stability, to ensure continued growth and success in the future.
Dr. Mahfoud Amara is an Associate Professor in Sport Management, College of Education, Qatar University. He tweets at @AmaraMahfoud
Dr. Mahfoud Amara is an Associate Professor in Sport Social Sciences and Management at Qatar University.
