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Qatar spends big to beat post-World Cup blues
Along with the departed football crowds, thousands of foreign workers left the Gulf state after Lionel Messi lifted the coveted trophy on December 18. Many of those who stayed on are counting the cost.
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In this file photo taken on November 18, 2022 People walk towards Souq Waqif marketplace in Doha ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. Months after hundreds of thousands of football fans packed into its hotels and stadiums, Qatar is seeking to remedy a bout of the post-World Cup blues by hosting more international events. Along with the departed football crowds, thousands of foreign workers left the Gulf state after Lionel Messi lifted the coveted trophy on December 18. Many of those who stayed on are counting the cost.
(AFP/Philip Fong)
M
onths after hundreds of thousands of football fans packed into its hotels and stadiums, Qatar is seeking to remedy a bout of the post-World Cup blues by hosting more international events.
Along with the departed football crowds, thousands of foreign workers left the Gulf state after Lionel Messi lifted the coveted trophy on December 18. Many of those who stayed on are counting the cost.
Luxury hotels built for the tournament have laid off hundreds of staff as rooms costing thousands of dollars a night during the tournament can no longer be filled.
In a country normally hungry for labour, a shopping mall on the edge of Doha recently advertised 100 jobs and saw more than 1,000 people jostling outside for interviews.
Qatar estimates that the World Cup, which residents once dreaded, brought 1.4 million people to the state.
Akhtar Patel, who runs a jewellery store in Doha's Souq Waqif market, said business in comparison is "quiet".
"We really miss those fans now," he said.
