Islamic Values, Sustainability, and Mega-Event Legacies : A Case Study From FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Governments have been using sports as a strategy for tourism marketing, primarily because of its capacity to draw visitors, stimulate economic activity, and garner media attention (Bowdin et al. 2011). Host nations can achieve these benefits by incorporating a holistic and strategic approach to planning and implementation to ensure social, environmental, and social impacts are realized during and after the event. It is a common misconception that concepts of legacy planning for sustainable development are not rooted in Islamic values and therefore, imported to the Middle East region mainly from Western sources. With Qatar hosting the latest edition of the FIFA World Cup ™ (FWC), which is widely considered as one of the largest global events, attracting billions of global viewers, this research explores Qatar as a case study using a unique lens to examine the alignment of the event with Islamic values of justice, balanced development, responsibility towards nature and society and preservation of public good.

This thesis is an autoethnographic reflection based on my experiences and first-hand empirical insights working for more than eight years with the organizers of the FWC 2022 in developing and implementing legacy and sustainability programing in Qatar.

This research proposes a theoretical framework for Muslim event organizers, NGOs and governments to deploy strategies to apply Islamic values to contemporary event’s bidding and hosting process, with the outcome of delivering a sustainable event with a lasting legacy. This research aims to contribute to the development of literature in the field of mega-events and Islamic ethics, providing an assessment of how mega-events can be used as a catalyst for nationwide development, particularly through adopting positive value systems based on Islamic principles.