Qatar 2022 has come to an end, but the region will continue to embrace Olympic sports

The most decisive sporting chapter in Qatar’s 51 years now belongs to the archive. As usual, the overwhelming power of the FIFA World Cup absorbed almost all eyes. However, while Al Rihla first and Al Hilm later strolled through the eight stadiums, other events linked to sports were taking place in and near Doha, inevitably overshadowed by the world championship fever.

At the top of this list is the significant interest of the Qatari capital in becoming the venue for the 2036 Olympic Games. Its two attempts to be the first country in the Middle East to host the Games, in 2016 and 2020, were frustrated, it will now go for the third launch. As ambitious as it is innovative, the new proposal could include, for example, an air-conditioned marathon on several sections of the route.

For now, Doha already has in its pocket the organization of the 2030 Asian Games, a test of fire greater than that of the 2019 World Athletics Championships. It is also a certainty that the next Asian Football Cup, in which Qatar defends the title, will be held there after the step taken by China due to Covid-19. It remains to be decided which World Cup stadiums it will be played in and whether it will be between June and July 2023 or at the beginning of 2024 to avoid the overwhelming heat again. What is guaranteed for 2023 is the holding of the World Judo Championship, a sport that the emirate has been promoting and developing through a program jointly promoted by the International Federation and the Qatari Federation. It is also a fact that in January 2024, six months before the Olympic Games, Doha will beat to the rhythm of strokes and jumps at the World Water Sports Championships.

For its part, Saudi Arabia, the only country that shares a land border with Qatar, positioned itself as the sole candidate to organize the 2027 Asian Football Cup after India withdrew. Its appointment would be officially announced in February.

Tuesday, December 6, was a bleak day for Spain. Not only did Morocco unexpectedly eliminated them in penalties, but Alicante was overtaken by Doha in the nomination to host the 2025 World Table Tennis Championship. The Qatari capital, which won the election by 57 votes to 39, will enjoy this event for the second time. It had already done so in 2004.

Between December 8 and 10, the taekwondo season closed in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, where the World Grand Prix Final was held with the presence of the four Olympic categories in the men’s category (-58, -68, -80 and +80 kg) and in the women’s category (-49, -57, -67 and 67 kg). Jordan, another of the 17 countries that make up the Middle East, stood out as the only one to win two gold medals. Speaking of Saudi Arabia, its triathlon federation organized last December 9 the first coach development camp in the region.

Dubai, meanwhile, hosted the World Seven Series on December 2 and 3. The same night that Australia was eliminated in the hands of Messi’s Argentina, the women’s rugby sevens team won the United Arab Emirates stage. South Africa celebrated in the men’s draw. In this sport, the 2023 stages will be decisive in positioning the four best in the ranking who will qualify directly for Paris 2024, the big goal.