Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani is a big man, whether wearing a business suit or the flowing robes of a traditional Gulf ruler, and he wore his very broadest smile in Zurich on Thursday when Qatar won its quest for the 2022 World Cup – a crowning achievement for one of the world's smallest, richest and hottest countries.
TV footage of the big moment captured the emir's delight – and his warm hug with his son Sheikh Mohammed, who headed the Qatari bid. On hand too, equally pleased, was his consort Sheikha Mozah, elegant and stylish in purple silk, who embraced her son and husband before mounting the podium with them to accept the golden trophy.
Qatar, it is widely agreed, tackled its two-year campaign to persuade Fifa of its merits with the same flair and determination it has shown in translating its enormous wealth into a unique brand – an Arab statelet in one of the world's most volatile regions but one with global ambitions and a hard-headed sense of political and economic realities.
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