Qatar is an ideal state for producing content for popular science channels on YouTube. You can endlessly talk about how the country has turned into a futuristic paradise in just a few decades, each of its inhabitants is a millionaire, and soon this place will turn into the center of the universe.
In less than a month, the country will host the main football event of the four years – the World Cup. Many people prefer to make money on the results of such tournaments because sites like Cricket Betting 10 provide an opportunity to read match predictions and place bets without problems.
Historical context
The territory of Qatar at different periods of its history was influenced by other hegemons and was part of several states. In the early periods of its history, Qatar was part of the Arab Caliphate, then was under the protectorate of the emirs of Bahrain. The Portuguese and Turks tried to dominate the region. Saudi Arabia actively spreads Wahhabism (a religious trend in Islam). Still, the UK soon became the primary beneficiary, seizing power undividedly and delimiting spheres of influence in the region.
Qatar was not an important strategic point; until the middle of the 20th century, the country’s territory was a conglomerate of small settlements in the desert, and the main activity of the local population was pearling. However, everything changed after the Second World War when oil fields were found in Qatar and streams of British money poured in here. With the advent of the British began the rapid development of football and the formation of football organizations.
Officially, the Qatari Championship appeared in 1963, even before the country’s declaration of independence, which took place in 1971. The tournament existed at a semi-amateur level until 1972 when Qatar officially entered the Asian Confederation and renamed the championship to the Q-League.
Naturalization and establishment of the Aspire Academy
The main problem faced by football functionaries is a banal lack of population. In Qatar, at the end of the 90s, the country’s population was half a million; today, this figure is approaching 3 million. Still, the indigenous population in the country is only about 300 thousand people. In addition, many locals are interested in something other than a professional football career. In a country where petrodollars rule, it is much easier to become a successful person.
That is why the country chooses a development vector to invite foreign specialists. Only if in the services and construction sector the stake was placed on the citizens of India and Pakistan, football players from Africa and South America begin to be imported into the football bosom.
But in Qatar, they understood that the naturalization put on stream would not lead to anything good and decided to create an influential academy. Many have already heard about Aspire Academy. The Qataris started an academy in the country and made African branches search for and develop local youth. African youth were brought not for naturalization but to increase competition among local pupils.
However, the question immediately arose of what to do with talented youth and how to distribute it between clubs. Aspire does not belong to a specific club; the academy is geared towards educating Qatari youth in general. The Qatari championship was not interesting even to the local public; what can we say about foreign fans? Therefore, at about the same time, stars of the pre-retirement age began to be brought to Qatar. Guardiola, Romario, Batistuta, and Hierro become the first batch of celebrities who come to conquer the Arabian deserts for huge personal contracts.
Eto’o, Sneijder, Xavi, Gaby, and others will play in Qatar in the following years. But in recent years, the traffic of stars has been significantly reduced. At the moment, the main stars of the championship:
- Santi Cazorla;
- Andre Ayu.
Team success
Roughly speaking, the mission to bring Qatari football players to the European level failed. Yet, despite this, Qatar achieved resounding success on its continent at the last Asian Cup in 2019. The team led by the Spaniard Felix Sanchez Basa won the tournament for the first time in history (before that, they only reached the quarterfinals twice). Bas himself (a native of the Barcelona La Masia system) moved to Qatar in 2006, at the dawn of the creation of Aspire. During these 16 years, he coached the Qatari youth at various levels, and in 2017 he joined the leading team.
The same summer, after winning the Asian Cup, Qatar was invited to the South American Copa. Bas’s team played a draw with Paraguay but lost to the Colombians and Argentines, remaining in last place in the group.
And after two years, the Qataris went to North America for the CONCACAF Cup. The lower level of rivals allowed the Arab team to confidently leave the group and beat El Salvador in the quarterfinals. But in the semi-finals, they could not cope with the hosts of the tournament – the US team. Qatari Almoez Ali, by the way, became the top scorer of that tournament.
Qatari clubs in the Asian arena
If we talk about the Asian Champions League, the Qatari clubs are far from being in the first roles. Representatives of Qatar won the main Asian club tournament only two times. In 1989 and 2011, Al-Sadd won, and in 1995 Al-Arabi played in the final. In this regard, Qatari club football is much inferior to the representatives of East Asia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
National team stars
The main star of the current Qatar national team is the already mentioned Akram Afif, who was on a contract with Villarreal. In Europe, he did not achieve high-profile success. However, he scored eight goals in the second league of Belgium. After that, he left for his homeland, where he demonstrated bombarding exploits. In the 18/19 season, Afif scored 26 goals in 22 matches.
But Afif is far from the main striking force in the current team. Almoez Ali was the top scorer in two major tournaments. If at the Konkakaf Cup only four goals were enough for this title, then at the Asian Cup, Ali scored as many as nine goals. Almoez is the top scorer in the national team’s history; by age 26, he has 33 goals in 73 matches. The club career has developed according to very similar patterns with Afif. He started in the second league of Austria, went to the Spanish branch of Qatar “Cultural” for a dozen matches, and returned to his homeland. Only now, Ali is not playing for Al-Sadd, like Afif, but in the camp of their principal rivals – the Al Duail club.
If we talk about leadership qualities and playing time for the national team, Hassan al-Haidos stands out here. The 31-year-old winger has made a record 160 appearances for the national team. His career is straightforward; he did not waste time on European tours anywhere and has spent his entire career in the ranks of Al Sadda, being in the club’s system since 2007.
Looking at the leaders of the national team, one can draw an obvious conclusion. They are all offensive players. There are not even stars in the defensive line by local standards, which leaves enormous questions about the team’s defense at the World Championship level.
Conclusion
In the information field, one can find opinions and a certain amount of materials that vividly praise the training systems for football players and the Qatari model of football development in general, but, as we see in practice, this could give better and more stable results. There are local successes, like winning the Asian Cup, and these successes are hard to dispute. The reality is that they should be considered.
1 Comment
Pingback: Making the most of Your Winnings: Unraveling the World of On-line Casino Bonuses – Savage Brewing Company