The Qatari end goal is clear. As sport is a key cog in their ambitious 2030 National Vision to become a global leader, the country is ploughing endless energy, time and money into making Doha an international sporting hub.

Their vision is our good fortune.

In recognising the value of sport as a unifier and in bringing visitors from around the globe to Qatar, no expense has been spared in building world-class infrastructure and hosting top-flight sporting events.

There are 36 international sporting events alone this year.

Fast-forward with FIFA 2022

Of course, the FIFA 2022 World Cup from 21 November to 18 December is going to the cherry on top of the sporting cake.

Indeed, vying to host the second biggest global sporting event had been part of the long-term vision for this tiny Middle Eastern country. Since 2010, when the successful bid announcement (a decision that was not without controversy), infrastructure development here has reached unprecedented levels.

The city is still a building site as roads, fan parks, bridges, and additional accommodation are being completed.

 

The springboard for the country’s sporting designs began with the hosting of the Asian Games in 2006 at the Khalifa International Stadium and has expanded, with rapid speed.

According to a Reuters report, Qatar has spent at least $229 billion on infrastructure since winning that bid. South Africa spend $3.3 billion to host the World Cup in 2010.

As already shared, it helps that this peninsula in the Gulf, is a petrol and gas-rich country and is able to bring its vision swiftly into being.

So committed are the Qatari to sport and its benefits, that they also have a national sports day – a public holiday – in February to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Spoilt for choice

Personally, as a devoted sports fan, I am delighted. I am also grateful to new-found friends who have sponsored some of our ringside treats and a hubby whose love of sport supersedes mine.

I mean, we almost went to watch an international Padel competition! No, I didn’t know what it was either, but now I do, thanks to the exposure it and sports like handball and camel racing receive in this country. But more of these in another post.

Today, this post, like all the diary entries, seeks only to give you a glimpse of living life here.

Watching world-class athletes compete live is one of the big benefits.

Winter feast

These ringside treats are generally restricted to the cooler winter months since strenuous sporting competition just isn’t possible in the Summer months in the Middle East.

But from November to May, you are spoilt for choice, with opportunities to watch everything from athletics to yachting.

Planning ahead

One of the many shifts we have had to make in adapting to life in a modern Middle Eastern first-world environment, is that everything is done online.

This means planning ahead.

No more fanciful weekend whims of deciding whether the weather is fit for watching a game of rugger on the day …

Oh no, you need to register and book your tickets in advance. And, to our knowledge, that’s at least a day ahead of the event.

You’ll also pay handsomely for your tickets, depending on the sport at hand. This is relative, however. If you are earning in Qatar Rials, then the prices are acceptable, but when calculated in Rands, they’re sometimes astronomical.

Tennis

I have never watched a live tennis match, bar school matches and I have never played myself. I always watch Wimbledon, and a couple of the Grand Slam games. None of it prepared me for watching players who are internationally ranked “in the flesh”. I not only marvelled at the speed and athleticism of the players , but relished the “strawberries and cream” sideshows.

Except there are no strawberries or cream here, but rather a smorgasbord of take-away eats from around the globe, along with a trusty cup of tea.

There are also displays, give-aways (I have a couple of giant-sized tennis balls to show for it) and great games for children.

We were also privileged to watch South African Lloyd Harris playing, and the Wimbledon women’s runner-up Ons Jabeur. The local Tunisian fans broke into song cheering her on.

Moto GP

I grew up around motorbikes. My Dad was a motorcycle correspondent and so every weekend, he would traipse his family off across the English countryside to report on trials (foot-ups), scrambles and speedway. And so, the opportunity to immerse myself in the high-octane fast lane of big bikes with a set of special pass tickets was a no-brainer.

The MotoGP is an annual event that takes place at the Lusail Circuit, and it’s every bit as spectacular as I’d hoped. The low winding growl of the engines and the speed of the live action pushes the senses into overdrive. There’s a wonderful mardi gras atmosphere away from the circuit and pits too.

Athletics

With just one ticket gifted, it was toss up. The H or me. The H was deemed more deserving and so off he went on an extremely hot and windy afternoon to attend a Diamond League Athletics meet in Doha. Yes, a Diamond League meeting! We’ve avidly watched these top-flight meetings on the box for many, many years, such is our enjoyment of track and field athletics. This would be another one for the sporting bucket list.

Except the H and a dozen others never made it as they all ended up in the wrong stadium! (Long story!) And since the host stadium closed its doors at 6pm (I have told you, they are very paraat here), the H came directly home. It was worse than finishing last. He hadn’t even got to line up!

Football

Football fever has come to Doha, just as it came to Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, in South Africa in 2010. With cheap tickets (QAR30 or about R120) being offered to the final three qualifiers in late May, we jumped in! They were played at 9pm, just as many games during the World Cup will be played at night too. We were not disappointed. As shared in an earlier blog on what to expect in November, if our experience is anything to go by, the FIFA 2022 World Cup is going to be special.

Golf

The Qatar Masters celebrated 25 years this year. The club is the oldest golf course in the city and is centrally situated. But it isn’t one of those venues at the end of a Metro, and so by the time we reached said destination on foot after getting off at the closest Metro station, our resolve of following a golfer or three around the course dissipated, and we settled for watching the players play the final hole.