Saudi-Qatar row shows no sign of ending
The Club World Cup only has another
14 months to run – December this
year and December next year – before
it heads the way of the Confederations
Cup. It will, however, be succeeded in
time by Gianni Infantino’s revamp. With
24 teams. Then 32. Then 36...
Originally the idea of a world club
cup was proposed by CONMEBOL.
In the late 1950s, envious of UEFA’s
European Champions Cup and highly
confident in the superiority of their
own clubs – in the days when South
American teams did not have to
sell their teenagers to Europe – the
confederation issued a challenge.
Uruguay’s Penarol and Santos
of Brazil were the continent’s initial
flag-bearers before the clashes
between different cultures, never
mind different clubs, descended
into mayhem and madness.
The concept was dead on its feet
when Toyota, in the early throes of
the Japanese sponsorship avalanche,
threw down the cash for a one-off
annual event in Tokyo. Money talks,
and Nottingham Forest and Liverpool
lost to a workmanlike Nacional and a
fine Flamengo respectively on pitches
that were dry and bumpy. The football
was poor, but the sponsor was happy- and so was a Japanese football
establishment chasing hosting rights
to the 2002 World Cup.
In due course, Africa and Asia
demanded the right to join in, so FIFA
obliged by devising the seven-team
event which has proved a PR lead
balloon ever since 2005 – whether
in Japan, Morocco or the UAE.
Europe, despite its clubs winning 12
of the last 13 Finals, remains largely
uninterested, while African and Asian
clubs have mostly failed to justify their
involvement – though the cash on
offer is far more important to them
than it is to the Europeans.
Renewed fascination surrounds theKeir
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last two upcoming tournaments
because the host nation is Qatar,
with these acting as warm-up
events for the World Cup in 2022.
The presence of Liverpool for only
the second time since 1981 intrigues
because they will attract the majority
English-language attention of social-
media platforms. And that will only
exacerbate the angry frustration of
Saudi Arabia’s regime next door.
For the Saudis, and the coalition
of neighbours trying to bring Qatar
to its knees, the World Cup hostingis an extremely high-profile target.
Ditto then for the Club World Cup.
But Saudi tactics are seriously
upsetting international football. The
Saudi-based Arabsat corporation
provides the satellite platform through
which beoutQ can rip off TV broadcasts
of the World Cup and Champions
League plus coverage of the big five
European leagues. It pays nothing,charges nothing and thus undermines
the lucrative contracts across the
Middle East and North African region
bought by Qatar’s own beIN Sports.
Complaints from FIFA, UEFA,
the European leagues and even the
compromised Asian confederation have
fallen on deaf Saudi ears. And no law
firm in Saudi dare take up the case, for
obvious reasons.
One suggestion, from a member of
the FIFA Council who does not wish to
be identified, was that Saudi Arabia’s
national team should be expelled
from the World Cup qualifiers. There
is, however, no such option in FIFA
statutes or competition regulations.
This is, after all, a commercial dispute
not a sporting one.
Indeed, it will be interesting to see
what will happen if Saudi Arabia qualify
for Qatar 2022.
For example, would supporters from
Saudi Arabia be allowed to cross the
border? Would Saudi fans even be
allowed to watch the World Cup live
from Qatar, free or not?
The upcoming Club World Cup may
offer a straw in the desert winds.Global game...
Al Ain (in white)
and Esperance
at last year’s
Club World CupIt will be interesting to see what will happen
if Saudi Arabia qualify for Qatar 2022
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