Qatar image would suffer more than economy if World Cup lost | GulfNews.com

Qatar image would suffer more than economy if World Cup lost | GulfNews.com:



"Qatar’s sizzling growth would slow if it lost the right to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, but the tiny country is so rich that the impact on its economy and financial markets would be much smaller than the blow to its reputation.



The Qatari stock market sank 1.1 percent on Monday, underperforming the region, after a British newspaper published what it said was evidence of corruption in Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup. Qatar and tournament organisers denied the allegations.



Plans to spend billions of dollars on building stadiums could be scrapped if the allegations eventually lead to a reversal of FIFA’s decision to award the World Cup to Qatar, which has a population of 2.1 million and no reason to build the venues solely for its own population.



Construction of related infrastructure, including road and rail links, could be slowed or put on hold, and real estate firms might suspend hotel projects involving thousands of rooms."



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