For Qatar, hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup is not only about soft power and a nation branding strategy. Capitalizing on this major sporting event, Doha aims to implement a broader national security strategy, focusing on two interrelated strategic dimensions – the strengthening of internal security capabilities and cooperation with regional and international partners while also considering the nexus between security and national identity.
Since Qatar won the bid in 2010 to host the 2022 World Cup, the Qatari leadership has worked to take advantage of the major event to drive its national security strategy. The boycott imposed on Qatar by a quartet of neighboring countries in June 2017 made the Qatari leadership accelerate these plans, as the country faced isolation. In an interview in 2019, the chief of staff of Qatar’s armed forces acknowledged that increasing challenges and conflicts in the region, as well as the spread of terrorism, were pushing Qatar to strengthen its military and security institutions. He noted this was being done by “developing the human element as the primary focus to implement the defense and security strategy.” At the same time, he mentioned the importance of strategic cooperation and “necessity of unifying efforts to bolster security, peace and stability.”
Protecting the World Cup (Today), Defending the Country (Tomorrow)
Qatar has developed a security strategy for all aspects of the World Cup. The Sports Crowd Security and Safety Program was designed to train government and private security personnel. Specific programs, training courses, and joint exercises have been held to build the capacity of the Qatari security staff. European police advisors and Europol have conducted training for security personnel to address possible crisis or emergency scenarios. With a population of about 3 million people, Qatar expects to host more than 1 million soccer players and fans. With a comparatively small population of its own, to ensure security for such a major event, Qatar needed to look to international partners. The World Cup Shield Operation, comprised of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Turkey, and Pakistan, was organized to protect Qatar’s airspace and territorial waters against terrorist and other threats.
On October 23-27, these countries, among several others (including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan), held joint security drills in Qatar for the second time. The “Watan” joint security exercise involved 32,000 government security personnel and 17,000 personnel from the private security sector.
Outsourcing Security: The International Relations of the World Cup
For the World Cup, Qatar has widely outsourced security to partner countries to cope with its shortage of security personnel as well as lack of experience in providing security at major international events. Qatar has signed several security agreements with partner countries committing to cover the financial costs related to the deployment of foreign personnel, while each foreign unit will be under the command of its country of origin.
For instance, Turkey plans to send 3,000 riot police to help secure stadiums and hotels, 50 bomb specialists, and 80 sniffer, or detection, and riot dogs. Ankara will also provide staff support to Qatar’s security personnel on special operations, bomb disposal, and security measures against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. The United States is cooperating on countering threats from unmanned aircraft systems. A joint task force of Turkish land and naval forces will be deployed, together with a Turkish warship to secure Qatari shores. Morocco planned to send an estimated 6,000 security personnel, mainly tasked with supporting intelligence and cybersecurity teams. Pakistan’s government agreed to send troops, including army officers and junior commissioned officers. The Security Directorate of Jordan offered jobs at the World Cup in Qatar to retired Jordanian soldiers under age 45.
European states are also playing a significant role in supporting Qatar’s security staff. The French Interior Ministry said it would deploy about 220 law enforcement officers to provide “high-level expertise and specialised logistical support,” especially gendarmes specialized in anti-drone policing and demining operations. The United Kingdom is assisting in maritime and air policing. The Joint Typhoon Squadron, established in 2020 and based in the U.K. at Royal Air Force Coningsby, is jointly operated by Royal Air Force and Qatari Emiri Air Force personnel. The squadron will focus on counterterrorism through air security operations. Despite the partnership, a U.K. Ministry of Defense statement assured that the Qatari Emiri Air Force would oversee air security for the World Cup. Spain and Italy will also take part in the security effort, with Madrid contributing 115 riot police officers and Rome providing 560 soldiers from the armed forces and the Carabinieri, with 46 land vehicles, a ship, and two aircraft.
Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building
For Qatar, hosting the World Cup provides an unprecedented opportunity to build stronger domestic security expertise through training programs, joint exercises, and knowledge transfer. “The idea is that there will be a transfer of skills,” stated French Member of Parliament Amélia Lakrafi. This is especially related to policing but also to nonconventional threats.
For instance, NATO and Slovakia trained Qatari forces against threats posed by chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials. Romania provided training for protecting prominent figures and countering threats coming from improvised explosive devices.
Since the event was assigned in 2010, Qatar has focused on improving its policing practices. Interpol’s Project Stadia was launched in 2012: Funded by Doha, the 10-year project built a Center of Excellence to help member countries deal with policing and security preparations for major sporting events, while also creating a network of security experts. The Turkish National Police Academy has conducted exercises and offered courses, training 960 Qatari police officers ahead of the World Cup. Training has included behavior analysis, crisis management, fighting hate crimes, sports safety, and maintaining public order at social events. Also, the Moroccan Royal Institute of Police in Kenitra hosted a Qatari security delegation for seminars on crowd management and the protection of high-level figures. In May, the “Last mile of the Qatar FIFA-2022 World Cup” conference brought to Doha security representatives from the 32 countries with teams that qualified to participate in the World Cup. The conference established the International Police Cooperation Center to exchange information and supervise police activities during the event. This operation room is being overseen by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani.
The Security-Identity Nexus
The World Cup also provides an opportunity for Qatar to display itself as a nation, sending a message to a domestic as well as an international audience. This is why Qatari leaders named the joint security exercises “Watan,” which in Arabic means nation. Over the past decade nation building has been a priority for Qatar’s emir and the government (as outlined in Qatar’s National Vision 2030), especially since 2017. With a population dominated by expatriates, Qatari nationals are a minority at home. Some analysts have observed that the Qatari men’s football, or soccer, team represents an example of “social nationalism,” a concept of nationalism defined by “social ties and culture rather than by common descent,” serving as a microcosm mirroring Qatari society.
With this framing, one of the clearest top-down measures connecting security and nation building in hosting the World Cup is Qatar’s mandated, event-related conscription (compulsory military service was introduced in 2013). Qatar’s security personnel include civilians enrolled in mandatory military service and diplomats who have returned from abroad. Conscripts report to the national service camp five days a week, attending training sessions conducted by officials from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. According to a Reuters report, officials told conscripts it was “their patriotic duty” to help during the World Cup. To ensure national security, especially when hosting major international events, Qatar needs technical expertise and assistance from partners; however, this wouldn’t be enough without a widespread sense of community belonging. Qatar hopes hosting the World Cup will help it strengthen all these elements to bolster its domestic security capabilities.
