Qatar has the chance to hold its head up high in the world of football, after the tiny Gulf state made the first major final of its history.
On Friday night, the 2022 World Cup host meets perennial regional success story Japan in the final of the 2019 Asian Cup, and with the meeting comes a chance to earn some on-field respect as the holders of genuine silverware ahead of the next edition of the World Cup.
That tournament, the first to be held in the Middle East, has been criticized for everything from labor rights and corruption to derision surrounding the hosts’ footballing bona fides – it has never qualified for a World Cup, and was only guaranteed an appearance at 2022 through dint of its role as host.
However, its run to the final of this year’s Asian Cup, which included victory over the much-fancied South Korea in the quarterfinal, has been remarkable.
Despite its woeful global ranking – 93rd in the world – Qatar has won all six of its games without conceding a goal and boasts the tournament’s top scorer in Almoez Ali, who has eight for the tournament, double the next highest scorer.
Acrimony
But whether many people will take to the stadium to witness tiny Qatar’s underdog tilt at Asian Cup glory remains to be seen.
Held in the United Arab Emirates, the occasion has thrust politics into the spotlight, following Qatar’s remarkable estrangement from its Gulf neighbors in June 2017.
Much of the criticism aimed at the Gulf state comes from its alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Back then, Qatari citizens were given 14 days to leave the UAE, alongside Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which also banned their citizens from entering Qatar. A travel ban is still in effect.
Strangely, given the political climate, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has suggested “neighboring countries,” which could potentially include the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, could host matches in 2022, should his ambition of expanding the tournament to 48 countries at the next tournament be realized.
The absence of any real fanbase from the surprise package of the tournament has been a blow to organizers, who have seen attendance hover at around 10-14,000 for most of the group matches, and even those involving the hosts have seen swaths of empty seats.
Sluggish sales
It remains to be seen how many fans will show up for the final, given that Qatari supporters are largely banned from entering the UAE and Japan’s small but hardy traveling support will only take up a tiny fraction of the 43,000-seater Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
“Only a handful of Qatari supporters were at the (semifinal),” a veteran Emirati journalist who asked to remain anonymous, due to the tensions surrounding Tuesday’s game, told CNN.
“The stadium on Tuesday was packed (but) I don’t see how this could happen on Friday (for the Japan-Qatar final) given the little interest there is in the match as a whole. The Japanese fans here are quite few and if any Gulf nationals attended they’d be largely in support of Japan.”
While ticket sales have been sluggish, the semifinal between the hosts and Qatar saw almost 40,000 attend, boosted by the purchase of a reported 18,000 tickets by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for distribution to “loyal UAE fans” – a move criticized by some quarters of the press and social media.
Some matches saw only a handful of fans attend, such as the group stage clash between Qatar and North Korea – which was witnessed in person by only 452 spectators.
Angry scenes
Anger spilled over following the gas-rich nation’s remarkable 4-0 semifinal win, which dumped out hosts UAE, with some in the 38,646 crowd at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium throwing sandals and bottles onto the field to register their disgust, with video showing Qatar players cowering on-field as the missiles rained down.
The behavior will be frowned upon by authorities, and could jeopardize the UAE potentially sharing World Cup hosting duties in 2022, should the expansion to 48 teams go ahead.
The AFC told CNN via a statement that it is “conducting a thorough investigation into events at the Asian Cup UAE 2019 semifinal between the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. … Once that investigation has been completed, the AFC will decide on the appropriate next steps.
“The safety of our players and fans are of utmost importance to the AFC and we are working with the Local Organizing Committee and local authorities to ensure that optimal security procedures and standards are in place for the final.”
The semifinal clash represented the first time the two had come face to face on the football field since the UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in breaking off relations with Qatar almost two years ago.
While the occasion was ostensibly about football, the build up to the contest – also dubbed the “blockade derby” – was surrounded by analysis of the politics and diplomatic strife in the region.
The AFC confirmed to CNN that the UAE football association has lodged a formal complaint with the Asian governing body over the eligibility of two of Qatar’s players.
Final non grata
Since the defeat, the mood has soured, with barely any mention of the lost semifinal, or Friday’s final, in the Emirati press or on its streets. Sports commentators are even avoiding saying the name of their country’s greatest rival.
Another UAE-based journalist, who also wished to remain anonymous, told CNN that, since Qatar suffered the indignity of defeat on the hosts, coverage of the tournament is far lower than what fans should expect it to be ahead of a final AFC match.
When asked why, the journalist responded: “you know why.”
The run to the final has been a remarkable achievement for Qatar, a nation which has doggedly worked over the past few years, developing its football infrastructure and development through its Aspire Academy and the youth system work of coach Felix Sanchez.
All this work, including winning the 2014 AFC Under-19s championship with the same core squad as this tournament’s finalists, won’t be undone by the treatment Qatar has received in the UAE, but the sheen certainly has been taken off the achievement.
CNN’s James Masters contributed to this report.