Qatar is planning a bid to host the Olympic Games.
Following on from the success of the World Cup, which is currently ongoing in the Gulf state, officials are reportedly already thinking about a bid for the 2036 games.
While no timeframe has yet been announced by the International Olympic Committee as to when the winning bid will be announced, it's thought that Qatar will put itself forward.
Advert
If it were successful, it would be the first Muslim country to host the Olympics.
And as with the World Cup, it's likely that Qatari officials would push for the games to be moved to take place later in the year, to help with the heat.
However, advanced air-conditioning systems, which have been installed for the World Cup, will also no doubt be used again in the event that it is awarded the games.
Advert
Speaking to Reuters about the potential bid, a source said Qatar is confident of bringing the games to the country.
They said: "The success so far of this World Cup puts Qatar in a strong position – they have shown they can do this… it is a proof of concept.
"They hosted the Asian Games in 2006; and will be hosting them again in 2030.
"All of the infrastructure is here – the stadiums, the metro, the new airport."
Advert
The next Olympics is set to be held in Paris in 2024 before it then goes to Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane after that.
UNILAD has contacted the Qatar Olympic Committee for a comment.
This year's World Cup has been marred by controversy, with many critical of Qatar's human rights record and views on homosexuality.
Advert
But while some said they planned on boycotting the event, others argued that it would be wrong to do so.
Speaking to UNILAD, Paul Britton, who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, said he felt it would be 'counterproductive'.
“It would be counterproductive to boycott the World Cup in Qatar. By boycotting you lose the opportunity to give these important issues the stage they deserve and encourage countries like Qatar to step up and do the right thing, by these people of all genders and sexuality,” Britton, the managing director of Britton&Time, said.
Advert
He continued: “The Winter Olympics was held in China in 2022 and nobody talked about boycotting that when considering the way they have dealt with their Muslim population in the West of China.
“Are we going to end up in a situation where the West dictates that countries who don’t agree with every single policy then, therefore, can’t put a football team together? As that wouldn’t be much of a World Cup.
"Who exactly is the person to decide to align with every single value and policy? Because history dictates that we just don’t.”
Topics: Sport, Olympics, World News, Politics
Dominic Smithers