Life of Brian in soccer-mad Qatar

The 2nd December 2010 was a monumental day for one little nation just under five times the size of County Meath. Qatar was awarded the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and a nation rejoiced at the chance to show itself to the world. As I drove down the Corniche (sea front) in Doha, the capital of Qatar, that evening, I witnessed the outpouring of joy from the locals, and not so locals, in celebration at being given the chance to shine on a global stage and put this largely unknown country on the map. Originally from Kells, I attended St Colmcille's Boys' School and Kells Community School. Having trained and qualified as a chartered accountant in Dublin, I relocated to Waterford in 2007 and, like many other people of my age, found myself out of work in the current recession that has gripped Ireland. After a long time spent applying and interviewing for roles in my profession, I was required to do like many Irish husbands of previous generations and leave my wife to travel abroad to work. I accepted a job with an Irish company working on a renewable energy project based in Holland in February 2010 and, three months thereafter, was asked to take a position in Qatar. Being like the majority of Irish people, I knew very little of the country but, after some research and conversations with colleagues based in Qatar, I agreed to move out for an initial three months. I've been based in Qatar since May of this year working on one of the many new infrastructure projects currently being constructed. This is one of the many projects which will be completed in advance of the World Cup in 2022 which include the opening of a new airport, a metro rail system and causeway linking Qatar to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the brand new city of Lusail which will have the main stadium for 2022 and construction of 11 new or upgraded stadia. The stadia alone will be unique in both their design and construction. All stadia will be air conditioned to 27 degrees to counter the 50+ degree summer temperatures for the World Cup. The air conditioning system being used will harness the sun's own energy and use it to produce a vaporised cooling system which will make conditions a lot more bearable for the players, although there is still talk of a winter World Cup. Nine of the 12 stadia will be modular in their construction and, when the World Cup is over, the upper tiers of these stadia will have to be removed and sent to countries in the developing world. The reduced capacity stadia will be used by clubs in the domestic league. One brand new stadium will be completely modular and, after the World Cup, will be decommissioned and also sent to countries in the developing world. This is a sports-mad nation which has played host to a number of top-class sporting events in tennis, golf and soccer and which is looking to attract further events to the country. In November, in the build-up to the announcement of the host for 2022, I attended two of the many events that were organised to showcase Qatar as a host for major sporting events. The first event was a tennis match between legends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, although the doubles with the Borg, McEnroe, Mansour Bahrami and Ilie Nastase stole the show with the latter two players' inventiveness and range of trick shots well worth witnessing. The costs of the night's entertainment was 20 Qatari riyal, about €5, less than the cost of a pint in the local hotels. The second event was a friendly match between Brazil and Argentina to show FIFA delegates the ability of Qatar to host major football nations and attract a sell-out crowd of expatriats and locals to the event. The match was decided by a Lionel Messi goal but the show of support for Qatar from football personalities like Sir Alex Ferguson, Zinedine Zidane, Carlos Alberto, captain of the 1970 Brazil World Cup-winning team, and Johann Neeskens, among others, really helped push this bid to the forefront in the mind of delegates in selecting Qatar as the host for 2022. In 2011, Qatar will host the Asian Soccer Cup, the Asian version of European Championships, in addition to its annual European Tour golf tournament in February and tournaments for both men's and ladies' tennis tour circuits. Right now Qatar, which has one of the highest per capita incomes per head of population in the world, is in the midst of developing beyond its oil and gas reserves which provide the majority of this country's almost unlimited wealth. These industries will continue to prosper, but Qatar has invested in a knowledge economy through its Qatar Science and Technology Park and Education City development. These facilities were developed to attract technology companies and international colleges to the region. The Aspire sporting academy was set up to help develop the Qatari sporting stars of the future and, in November, Sir Alex Ferguson was a guest of the academy and held a conference and question and answers session for the locals. The Qatar Financial Centre has been established to attract financial institutions with its world class services which are tailored to businesses associated with Qatar's hydrocarbon resources. Qatar has a thriving Irish community with many Irish construction and engineering companies having bases here. The local rugby club is the epicentre of the Irish community with rugby and Gaelic football being played by all those willing to participate. Thankfully, we are able to get most of the major sporting events on television over here, although trying to get live championship matches proved more difficult during the summer. For a loyal Meath supporter like me, this was very difficult to deal with as it was the first summer in 23 years I didn't attend at least one championship match. The country is predominantly Muslim and observing the culture and rituals of Islam during Ramadan (a period of fasting similar to Easter) was quite interesting. The population growth in Qatar, up from 750,000 in 2000 to 1.7 million in 2010, has led to other cultures being integrated into local lives and you are never far from an American fast food restaurant or mall with all the regular high street brands. The outlook for Qatar in the future is very bright and many more Irish people and other nationalities will continue to be attracted here. Roll on World Cup 2022 when this little nation will put on a show that the world will never forget.