An East-West one-two for oil and power in China and Qatar’s stadium diplomacy
The shifting of the world football’s centre of gravity toward Asia, as part of a larger strategic vision for mineral markets and geopolitical influence
Football’s global centre of gravity is shifting eastwards as countries in Asia strategically focus on the sport’s development. As I’ve previously noted, in this Football 3.0 Qatar and China are playing an essential role in the sport’s ‘Asianisation’.
For several years, Qatar stood alone in its ambitious, lavishly resourced pursuit of football success which was most potently symbolised by the nation’s winning bid to stage the 2022 World Cup. Late in 2014 however, China announced a vision for football that seemed like ‘Qatar x100’. Since then, the East Asian giant has exhibited a voracious appetite for all things football.
And now it seems that the two countries are working together in an East-West Asia alliance that could profoundly change global football’s balance of power, as well as the environment within which the sport is organised and played.
As if to mark the marriage of world football’s most ostentatious couple, it was recently announced that the 2022 World Cup final venue will be jointly constructed by Qatar and China. The Lusail Stadium will be built in a joint venture between Qatari firm HBK Contracting and the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).
One suspects there will be more such collaborative ventures to come too. Lusail City is more than just a stadium, with plans in place to create a 19-district development in which 200,000 people will be living by 2022.