Strengths and weaknesses of Qatar's bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. The winner will be declared this coming Thursday
Strengths
* Qatar has based its 2022 World Cup bid on its Arab flavour and its compactness. All stadiums hosting the games are proposed to be located within a few minutes of each other and spectators will be able to watch more than one match a day.
* With an ultra-modern railway network expected to be up and ready for the event in 12 years' time, people would be able to travel to venues without much hassle.
* Qatar has also unveiled plans for modular stadiums that would be dismantled and shipped to countries with poor football infrastructure. All stadiums will be carbon neutral and have stunning designs.
* To counter the desert heat which can reach 50 degree Celsius in peak summer, Qatar will use radical cooling systems that would keep temperatures around the 27 degree mark inside stadiums.
* The fact that Qatar is a very rich country also helps. Its GDP for this year is a whopping 128 billion dollars, one of the highest in the world. While the worldwide recession has left its rivals like United States and Japan reeling with high unemployment and other problems, Qatar has largely escaped unscathed.
Weaknesses
* The desert heat remains a problem, as the FIFA inspection team mentioned in its technical report. The radical cooling mechanism which Qatar has promised has not been tested in actual conditions with thousands of people inside the stadiums.
* A compact World Cup is being projected as an advantage, but it is also a weakness. People love to visit several cities to soak in the atmosphere. A football World Cup is more than a tournament.
* Despite the fact that Qatar is quite liberal by regional standards, there are fears that fans won't be able to savour a full World Cup experience. Although alcohol will be allowed in designated zones, other entertainment options would be severely restricted due to local culture and traditions.
* Also, some of the promises made by Qatar are untested. Qatar's population is expected to surpass the two million mark from the current 1.6 million in 12 years' time and an additional 500,000 people are expected to visit the country during the event which could create problems with road and rail transport.