Yanis Darras 6:00 p.m., November 19, 2022

A few hours before the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the host country is busy to complete the final preparations.

Hotels, airports, stadiums... The country has pulled out all the stops to quickly build the infrastructure to host the event.

But at what cost?

Europe 1 takes stock.

Stadiums, roads, hotels... For the host countries, hosting the Football World Cup also means investing heavily in its infrastructure.

Because receiving the biggest football teams in the world and their hundreds of thousands of supporters is a challenge.

And, it is clear that in recent years, countries have put colossal sums on the table to succeed in meeting deadlines.

>> TO DISCOVER

- The newspaper of the 2022 World Cup

Thus, in 2014, Brazil spent no less than 15 billion dollars to host the World Cup.

An astronomical figure, but which remains ridiculous compared to the amount of money injected by Qatar to organize the 2022 edition. Thus, according to the latest estimates from Front Office Sport, the gas emirate has spent more than 220 billion dollars ( i.e. approximately 210 billion euros). 

Seven stages to create

But in reality, the small Persian Gulf state took advantage of its "Qatar 2030" plan to blow up its budget.

In this development project, not really linked to the world event, is planned in particular the construction of many hotels, public transport and even airports.

Perfect infrastructure also to cope with the influx of visitors to see their favorite teams compete.

And despite this attempt to hide certain costs, the bill for the infrastructure dedicated solely to the World Cup remains disproportionately high. 

Thus, just the construction of stadiums for the World Cup would cost between 6.5 and 10 billion dollars, assures Front Office Sport.

It must be said that Qatar has had to build seven stadiums since the awarding of this World Cup in 2010, out of the eight that will be used during the competition.

Significant revenue expected

But the Emirate is counting on visitors to replenish its coffers a little.

Asked about the issue during an interview with Al-Jazeera, the chairman of the competition's organizing committee, Nasser Al-Khater, estimates that the economic benefits could reach nearly 17 billion dollars. 

This amount includes in particular direct income, linked to the Football World Cup, but also income generated by tourism in the years to come, thanks to the media coverage of the event.