Covid-19 hits Qatari sports investments in Paris, region

Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar

The coronavirus (Covid-19) struck the Chinese city of Wuhan, before it was transferred to the rest of the world, which resulted in an almost complete cessation of the daily life aspects of flights and public transportation, in addition to a complete cessation of sporting activities, on which Qatar relies a lot in entry into the homes of Arab citizens, which has had a great impact on its investments.

Rotten sports taste of politics

Arab peoples are closely linked to sports practices, especially football, where they find an outlet and a place to empty their concerns, so millions of Arab citizens follow local, continental and international tournaments alike almost daily.

In this connection, the Al-Hammadin regime found an entrance to spread in all Arab homes, through several methods, including the launch of Al-Jazeera Sports Channel, which succeeded in obtaining broadcast rights for almost all international sports activities, overcoming that on ART, before changing its name to BEIN Sport, to escape the stigma of the Al-Jazeera news channel.

Among the Qatari ways to obtain the rights to host some international tournaments on its soil, was what happened by providing financial bribes to sports federations, in the organization of the World Athletics World Cup 2019 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, both of which were made after the submission of financial bribes from Qatari companies, according to Agence France-Presse published in March 2019.

Devastating stop

With the spread of coronavirus, world sports federations announced the suspension of all sports activities and international championships, such as major football leagues and Wimbledon tennis, to prevent the creation of rallies that could contribute to the spread of the disease, in addition to postponing some championships such as the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the Euro 2020 tournament for football.

Doha succeeded in obtaining the rights to broadcast all these championships in one way or another and stopping their broadcasts contributed to creating a major economic crisis for the Al Hammadin regime on the side of sports investment.

The features of the economic collapse of Qatar’s sports investment were illustrated in several forms, including the desire of many of the stars of “Paris Saint-Germain” to leave the team, especially after the administrative and financial crises that struck it during the recent period.

According to the French newspaper BFoot, the Qatar Sports Investment Corporation, which is managed by Nasser Al-Khulaifi is planning to sell the Parisian club.