The Global Media Coverage of the 2022 Qatar World Football Cup

Abstract

Mega sporting events attract global media attention such as the Olympic Games and the World Football Cup. Countries bid to host such events for a number of reasons which include favourable global media coverage serving economic, political, national, and cultural purposes. Qatar, following a long strategy of establishing itself on the world stage as a pioneer country in the Middle East, showcased its national economic achievements by organizing the World Football Cup from 20 November 2022 to 18 December 2022. The purpose of this paper is to look at the extent of media coverage demonstrated by the international media attention that is officially licenced by FIFA to cover the games: tv, radio, mobile and internet. Keywords: Qatar, Qatargate, Middle East, media, sports, football, FIFA, public funds