Manama: Qatar on Thursday became the first Arab, Muslim and Middle East country to be selected to stage the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar was picked ahead of Australia, Japan, South Korea and the US to host the quadrennial tournament following a secret ballot by the 22 executive members of football's world governing body in Zurich.
The selection sparked great celebrations and jubilation in Doha and other towns in Qatar, transmitted live by Qatari media and the news-dedicated television channel Al Jazeera, allowing millions of Arabs to join in the celebrations.
Qatar's officials said they were grateful to the international football federation, Fifa, for believing in change.
In Doha, several Qataris who had waited for hours before the large screens set up around the capital's main areas erupted in sheer joy after the name of Qatar was announced as the 2022 host of the world's most prominent game.
Several Qataris could be seen crying as they converged to the Corniche and to Suq Waqef, the traditional market home to several restaurants and shops.
Qatari ambassadors said that the decision was the crowning of tremendous efforts and contributions by people who believed in the country's abilities to host international tournaments.
In Manama, thousands of Arabian Gulf nationals, mainly from Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, thronged the bustling Exhibitions Avenue, bringing traffic to a snail's pace to express their joy with the historic decision.
"This is a great day, and we want all people in the Gulf and beyond in the Arab world to celebrate in style," Khalid Al Khayyat, a Bahraini national, said. "Today, we are all Qataris and we should congratulate ourselves on Qatar's success to convince the world about its ability to stage the World Cup," he said.
Samira Mohammad, a teacher, said that Qatar deserved to host the games after pledging an outstanding bid.
"It will have great effects on the political, social and economic development of the region," she said. "I just hope that the other countries that did not appreciate the Qatari bid will be fair play and will not resort to using biased adjectives such as 'tiny nation' or 'desert country' when referring to Qatar. Football, after all, should be about bridging differences and not creating them," she said.
Dancing in the streets
Qataris danced along the Gulf waterfront Thursday and used the symbol of the last World Cup - the vuvuzela - to blast their joy at being named host of the 2022 tournament.
Once considered a longshot candidate because of its small size and searing summer heat, wealthy Qatar pulled off a huge upset by courting FIFA with a mix of high-priced PR talent, huge oil and gas wealth and audacious plans such as air conditioning entire stadiums.
"We won! We won!" cried revellers in Doha, while others broke into traditional Arabic dance and songs. Some boats off Doha's port shot off red flares in celebration.
On a Qatar Airways flight from Dubai to Doha, the pilot went on the intercom to tell passengers the "great news" of Qatar's selection.
Many of the cars jamming Doha's main streets reflected the country's huge oil and gas wealth and booming economy: Hummers, Range Rovers and Ferraris. The crowd also displayed what could have swung the vote Qatar's way - a range of Arabs from across the Middle East and North Africa all joining in Qatar's surprise victory.
The Peninsula newspaper in Qatar quickly posted the headline: "History made as World Cup heads to Qatar."
It will be the first time the World Cup will be in the Arab world, where the sport is hugely popular and there is a vast pool of young fans.
In Doha, people stood under palm trees and blasted vuvuzelas, which became known around the world at this year's World Cup in South Africa. Cars answered back with blaring horns and Arabic music.
"We go to new lands," FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in Zurich after Qatar - which has never even made the final World Cup tournament and is currently ranked 113th - beat out the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Qatar bid chair Shaikh Mohammad Bin Hamad Al-Thani paid thanks "on behalf of millions of people living in the Middle East."
"Thank you for believing in us," he said. "Thank you for having such bold vision. ... Thank you also for acknowledging this is the right time for the Middle East. We have a date with history which is summer 2022."
Qatar had one of the most aggressive and expansive lobbying campaigns of any bidder, led by Mike Lee, an Englishman who was instrumental in helping London secure the 2012 Olympics and Rio the 2016 Games.
Early on, Qatar struck a deal to sponsor the African football confederation congress, negotiating an agreement that gave it exclusive access to the top officials in African football. It pitched its bid from Singapore to Brazil in the final months and invited about 20 African football federations heads to a friendly match between Brazil and Argentina just two weeks before the vote.
With vast oil and gas reserves, Qatar has one of the world's fastest growing economies - the IMF projected it will grow 16 per cent this year and 18.6 percent next year - meaning it won't run into the kinds of budget shortfalls or construction delays that have hampered other bidders.
Infrastructure upgrades
Qatar has promised to spend $42.9 billion on infrastructure upgrades and $4 billion to build nine stadiums and renovate three others. All those stadiums, Qatar says, will have a state-of-the art cooling system that will keep temperatures about 27 degrees C (81 degrees F). Similar cooling systems will be used at training sites and even fan zones.
Like the rest of the Gulf, Qatar has used its wealth to buy a place on the world stage with first-class airlines and Mideast annexes of top Western museums and universities. Qatar also has aimed higher than others.
It bid for the 2016 Olympics and quickly dusted itself off after losing to throw all its formidable resources at the World Cup.
- With inputs from AP
