Thousands of jubilant Qataris surged on to the streets of Doha, an unassuming capital that has grand ambitions to transform its sporting and cultural profile.
“It’s a historic moment for us, when I saw the Emir [Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani] and Sheikha Moza [his wife] hugging the team and crying – we all felt the same here,” said Mohammed Amer al-Marri, who works at the Doha branch of Northwestern University. “When I used to travel no one knew about Qatar. Now everyone will know.”
One of the Arab Gulf’s most ambitious states, Qatar made its World Cup bid despite the fact that the desert nation has a population of just 1.7m, has never qualified for the contest and that the tournament takes place in June and July, when temperatures soar.
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