When Qatar won the 2022 World Cup hosting rights 12 years ago, the tiny Arab nation began preparing for what is said to be the most expensive and controversial tournament in history.
According to Forbes, Qatar initiated several projects, some from scratch including roads, hotels, stadia and rail as well as upgrades on existing airports.
The Qatari government is said to have spent Sh26 trillion, more than 15 times what Russia spent for the 2018 event. In 2017, the Qatar minister for finance said the country was spending Sh61 billion per week.
Forbes has also quoted ‘crazy amounts’ of money, affecting various sectors as the 29-day global phenomenon goes down.
The 2022 world champions are set to take home Sh5 billion with Fifa allowing the winning association to decide on how the money is shared. This will be hived off a Sh53 billion prize pool for the 2022 tournament, up from Sh48 billion in 2018.
Fifa also set aside Sh25 billion to be shared by clubs who have players at the World Cup, a reward for developing the players.
