The NileView
In his fifth attempt at football’s biggest stage—it had to be Messi’s for Argentina.
Felicidades Argentina for winning the 2022 World Cup for the third time in their history and the first time in 36 years, الف مبروك for Morocco––without a shadow of a doubt the team of the tournament, and congratulations to Qatar for delivering to football fans around the world a World Cup to remember, many joyful moments, positive vibes, and an opportunity to experience the Middle East culture and hospitality.
After the long wait for the biggest, most entertaining, and exciting sports event on the planet––over a decade since Qatar was announced in 2010 as the host nation of the 2022 World Cup—for a month, the 32 qualifying teams––including Wales for the first time since 1958––competed in 64 games. We football fans enjoyed it, and before we knew it, it was all over, and once again, the countdown started for the next edition, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026.
Qatar, one of the smallest countries in the world with 11.5K square kilometers, yet one of the wealthiest, gained its independence just over 50 years ago in 1971. With a population of 350K citizens––a fraction of the country’s growing and diverse population of 3 million people, it was the epicenter of the world of football from November 20th to December 18th. It is one of the rare events, and not just in sports, that truly brings the world together with an unprecedented sense of excitement and passion when millions from around the world get glued in front of their televisions for the entire tournament. Some are even more fortunate than others to get the chance to listen to and enjoy one of the world’s top football commentators—Peter Drury, with his exceptional poetic style. It is truly the biggest-watched event in the world––for many, even more significant than the Olympics. For Qatar, it was a unique opportunity not just to host a landmark football tournament but to further position the country on the global map and showcase its potential, culture, prosperity, and prowess. In addition, for Qatar, the tournament could be the catalyst to become a tourist destination which is something––I believe––the government is already working on, including plans to offer visa-free entry to citizens from 95 countries.
The 22nd World Cup was an edition with many firsts. The first in the Middle East; the first World Cup held in winter in the middle of most of the top leagues and not as usual in late spring and summer; the first tournament to reach 172 goals––the highest ever––despite having seven games (11 percent) of the 64 games ending with a goalless draw reflecting another first in that category. Qatar was the first team eliminated––the earliest exit by a host nation in the tournament’s 92-year history. The first air-conditioned stadiums to keep players and fans cool, given the usual temperature at this time of year that hovers around 43+ Celsius––which probably gave the world a taste of the stadiums of the future at a time when the planet is increasingly being affected by climate change and global warming. Moreover, the proximity of all eight stadiums––where the furthest distance between them is 74 kilometers––allowed fans to move from one stadium to the other for the first time in a World Cup and attend several games daily.
In addition, the tournament saw for the first time six goals in the final; one of the most thrilling games of all time––to say the least––coupled with having one of the most talented players in the tournament, let alone in the world Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat-trick––for the first time since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final––and astonishingly ending on the losing side and settling with the runners-up medal. Furthermore, even in football, innovative technologies are transforming the game. When the tournament kicked off, it saw one of the most significant in-game technology uses in sports history, setting the foundation of a new era in tech-enabled football. The tournament employed a ball-tracking mechanism witnessing for the first time the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure hopefully accurate and error-free offside decisions––if such a thing could ever exist, especially in sports! The games enjoyed the introduction of one of football’s latest high-tech applications aimed at speeding up the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision-making process while improving its accuracy. The Adidas newly made ball includes a built-in sensor that tracks every touch of the ball during the game at a rate of 500 times per second and enables the collection of ball movement data and transmits it to video match officials within seconds––an evolution of the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) using 12 cameras attached to the roof of the stadium to track the ball and each player’s movements 50 times per second––an improved version of the one used at the 2018 World Cup. Undoubtedly, the technology deployed in this year’s tournament is just scratching the surface of the potential capabilities of what innovative technology can offer to the game.
Over the last twelve years and in the build-up to the tournament, Qatar had invested heavily in building the country’s infrastructure, including but not limited to the eight new state-of-the-art stadiums in and around Doha––including the innovative Stadium 974, named after the number of shipping containers that form its structure and was dismantled to be repurposed even while the tournament was still being played after its usage was completed––the metro system, roads, hotels, and a solar power station, to mention a few.
The stage was set for a fantastic World Cup, and fans were eager to watch exciting games and the world’s best footballers do what they do best. However, more often, the World Cup is about much more than football, and the 2022 edition was not an exception. As often in previous World Cups, this year’s tournament has not been immune to the ideologies of current global affairs. The tournament was marred with controversies, angry debates, and unprecedented scrutiny levels. It all began well before the first match was played; in fact, ever since Qatar was announced as the host and continued throughout the one-month-long event and even after its final whistle.
This included, from the outset, allegations of corruption from the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) swirling around the decision to host the event in Qatar, to labor abuses and the treatment of migrant workers during the preparation for the World Cup––which to Qatar’s credit, they have taken several measures since then including issuing new labor laws, introducing a minimum wage to become one of the highest in the region, giving workers greater freedom to change jobs, addressing the tournament’s impact on climate, among other issues. The question remains whether these policies and changes will be fully implemented. However, there is no reason why they should not be. Some other debates argued how a country of the size of Qatar with no sporting legacy could organize an event of such magnitude. Besides, many also wondered from an economic, environmental, demographic, sporting, and, of course, societal readiness perspective––how the tournament could be organized, let alone be a success. At one point in time, especially in some countries––I should say needlessly negative and disappointing across various channels and media outlets––the debate reminded us of Samuel P. Huntington’s book “Clash of Civilizations” published in 1996. Maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, but surely the campaign against Qatar was uncalled for in many ways. It is essential to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all. Each society has its own culture, values, and beliefs, and it is invaluable always to respect differences ahead of similarities. At any rate, this is the World Cup, and the focus should be more on the sport and leave everything else to another day and another platform to address non-football issues.
Back to the World Cup, Argentina was trying to overcome its disappointment eight years ago in Brazil in 2014 when they wasted so many clear chances throughout the final only to lose to Mario Götze’s goal in the 112th minute. Argentina Captain, 35-year-old Lionel Messi—at the personal level—wanted to complete an unbelievable winning record unmatched by any other player that includes 38 trophies, seven Ballon d’Or, over 1,000 games played, and more than 750 goals scored for club and country with only one trophy eluding him—the World Cup. At the professional level, as one of football’s all-time greats and in possibly his last appearance at a World Cup, having played a record 26 times for Argentina and holder of the record of games played in World Cups––he also wanted to emulate Mario Kempes in 1978 and Diego Maradona in 1986, although both won their medals amidst controversies. Messi genuinely wanted to deliver the greatest glory football could offer for his homeland and millions of followers in Argentina and around the world. In the final act, he was deservedly named player of the tournament and lifted the golden trophy that he, and La Albiceleste, worked so hard to win. Seconds later, millions in Buenos Aires and around the country were already in the streets celebrating.
Argentina and their incredible accomplishment aside, the team that was the center of attention as the tournament progressed was Morocco. They became one of the stories of the 2022 World Cup; they stole the hearts with their performances, passion, and sensational victories against football giants such as Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. The Atlas Lions––as they like to be known––with the likes of Bounou, Hakimi, Amrabat, and Ounahi, to mention a few—made history as the first team from Africa to reach the World Cup semifinals. In large part credit to a fantastic team effort throughout the tournament, keeping their defenses intact, only conceding one own goal in the build-up to their semi-final game against France, and the icing on the cake was that one goal by Youssef En-Nesyri rising highest to head the ball into the net three minutes from half time against Portugal––what an effort from Team Morocco! Is this an early sign of a possible shift in power in football dominance away from Europe and South America? Is it too early to tell? The fact is that Morocco knocked on that door and showed that teams from Africa could have a lot more to say in future World Cups. In any case, several years from now, the 2022 edition will be remembered as Morocco’s World Cup. However, the question that will probably pop up is what is next for teams from Africa and what needs to be done so that they have a more solid presence and go all the way in future tournaments.
On this note, is it time for the football governing body to reconsider the allocation of World Cup country slots per continent? In the 2022 edition, according to FIFA classification, Europe includes 55 countries and had 13 teams represented, reflecting nearly 24% of the continent, while Africa’s 54 countries were represented by only five teams reflecting 9% of the continent––Not really reflecting one of FIFA’s most visible slogans––Fair Play!
In fact, Africa’s other teams competing in the tournament, including Senegal––even without their talismanic captain and forward Sadio Mané––as well as Cameroon and Tunisia, were also pushing hard and delivering some memorable performances. The tournament witnessed some of football’s biggest surprises, including Tunisia beating France, Japan beating Germany and Spain, and South Korea beating Portugal. This was coupled with some stunning football results of all time, such as Cameroon beating Brazil and, of course, Saudi Arabia beating the eventual champions, Argentina.
From the outset, around eight teams were in contention to win the World Cup, but, to many pundits, football experts, and of course, bookmakers, it was Brazil followed by France––the two top teams to beat––together with Argentina and then England with a combined record for the four football heavyweight countries of ten World Cup trophies and six runner-up medals. However, Brazil was left wondering what went wrong; they played well and had an unbelievably talented team––in reality, two teams, given that the quality of the substitutes on the bench equalled those on the pitch. But that is the beauty and, at the same time, the madness and excitement of futebol. In that quarter-final game between Brazil and Croatia, when Neymar scored his sensational goal 15 minutes from time––it seemed that all was over, and Brazil was on their way to the final. However, Croatia, led by their fantastic footballer and one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Luka Modric, had other ideas, and they equalized with the first shot on target in the 117th minute; the rest is history and a clear case in point of how brutal the penalty saga can be. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose; it is that simple. There are no actual rules or even logic except some brilliance in handling those stressful moments and a lot of good fortune. The result––Croatia––a country with 3 million citizens who adore football with their talented squad, has made it to the last four again and, this time, finished third on the back of being runners-up in Russia at the 2018 World Cup and on the way, they deservedly have beaten the tournament’s favorite team to win it—thanks to their resilience and some magic work from their goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.
In the final analysis, it was a sensational World Cup. Several games, including the unbelievable nail-biting final, were settled after a penalty shootout––or, as they call them, the lottery––but still, it was as exciting as ever. One would only wonder what if the likes of Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and the goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland were also playing at the tournament––needless to say, the level of football would have been elevated a few more notches and definitely we would have enjoyed more goals.
If we have learned anything from this year’s World Cup, it is that year after year, sports in general and football in specific, are becoming more of a business. More so, a global industry with its integrated and increasingly influential ecosystem that includes players, teams, football associations, fans, media, sports vendors, agents, managers, corporates, and even, in some cases, government support in different forms, as well as many more stakeholders that represent a growing multi-billion-dollar industry.
With a quick look at the rising number of clubs with an unbelievable spending spree and their financial suiters coupled with the staggering $220 billion Qatar spent to be ready to host the 2022 World Cup––the largest investment in a World Cup of all times by a stretch, the writing is on the wall on who will play a significant role in the football industry in the years to come. Finally, the best answer to the tournament's unrelenting critics is that––according to post-tournament media reports––most of the fans who attended and watched the World Cup on television enjoyed the games, celebrated the talented players, and supported their favorite teams passionately and that is exactly what the tournament should be all about.
Interestingly, it has been just ten days since we watched the amazing World Cup final between Argentina and France, and the media is already reporting that Saudi Arabia is interested in bidding for the 2030 tournament and is going for one of the football icons––Cristiano Ronaldo––as their campaign ambassador. If this is true, stay tuned for more exciting times in the world of football.
About the authors: Hussein Kamel, a Freelance Journalist based in Montréal @HusseinKamelio, and Sherif Kamel, a Professor of Management and Dean of the School of Business at The American University in Cairo.
28 December 2022
Issue #27