Qatar bet on future as sports hub

A bit lengthy, but nice article on Qatar's grand ambitions on the sports scene... 

DOHA: Biking through the south of France one summer’s day a decade ago, Qatar’s Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was stopped by a pack of cyclists from the Tour de France.

So impressed was he with the peloton racing past that he phoned famed Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx and asked him to organise a similar bike race in the Gulf Arab state.
Thus began a 10-year love affair with sport which would eventually see the tiny country do what most thought impossible: win an audacious bid to host the 2022 football World Cup.
But Qatar’s bold ambition in the realm of sport does not end there. Buoyed by its successful World Cup bid, the country has begun to indulge a seemingly insatiable desire to host global sporting events.
Last month Qatar officially launched a bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. It has submitted a bid for the ’17 World Athletic Championships, and has expressed interest in hosting the Grand Depart for the ’16 Tour de France.
This is all bolstered by Qatar’s sponsorship of a myriad of sports events and teams.

Read more at: http://www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com/qatar-bets-future-sports-hub/