If ever there was a time to have money then surely the time is now. As the world is gasping for wealth then it appears the only cure for the thirst is oil. One country which is sitting on an amazingly quenchable amount of oil is Qatar. Qatar is a Middle Eastern country with a population of just over 1.5 million, a population which does not mirror the wealth and power now associated with this small part of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar’s national income primarily derives from oil and natural gas exports. Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the Arab World according to the International Monetary Fund (2006) and the second highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World Factbook.
Earlier this month Fifa, the global governing body of football awarded the world cups of 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar respectively. Coincidentially two countries which possess not much football heritage, but two countries which possess massively wealthy individuals whom have acquired wealth from oil. It is as obvious as the wealth in Roman Abramovich's back pocket that a certain degree of foul play appears to have been part of this system. Its one thing holding a global football competition in the vast country of Russia, which is not the most accessible of countries, but it is more than a little inconvenient to hold a football tournament in Qatar. As the World Cup usually occurs during the northern hemisphere's summer, the weather in Qatar is a concern with temperature reaching as high as 50 degrees Celsius. Other issues include the fact that homosexuality and alcohol consumption carry sever penalties in the Arabian State. So what I personally conclude from this decision is that everything has its price, even the right of hosting the World Cup.
Now with Qatari interest in football growing it appears the rich men in Qatar are looking to invest heavily in the football world. Earlier this month, just after the World Cup announcement the Qatar foundation unveiled a £125 million sponsorship deal with Barcelona football club. Barcelona whom have never carried a commercial sponsor on their shirts appear to have a price for their ethical believes and the Qatari's have found it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/10/barcelona-shirt-sponsor-qatar-foundation
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8217591/Manchester-United-sale-a-long-way-off-says-Michael-Edelson.html
So with all this money floating around I was intrigued to hear the rumours that the heavily indebted Manchester United appear to be on the wish list of The Qatari Royal Family, namely The Qatar Foundation. As i blogged last month about the recent moves by the Glazer family to remove the £243 million Payment-in-Kind (PIK) debt from Manchester United now is being seen by some experts as a possible payment funded by Qatari money. After all, the chances of the Glazers having paid down the PIK debt from their own pocket is thought minimal, although the secretive nature of the family’s business dealings means we may not know soon, if ever. However with rumours of a £1.5 billion imminent bid on the cards by the Qatari foundation it does make sense for the money obsolving Glazers to perhaps 'get their house in order'.
For Manchester United fans who have sat by and watched rivals such as Middle Eastern owned Manchester City and Russian owned Chelsea spend millions upon millions on players whillst United have only been servicing debt, it will represent some hope. Whillst the efficency of how Manchester United is run is certainly admirable in comparisson to the excuberent neighbours Manchester City, most fans would crave the end of Glazers reign and perhaps a little taste of that oil that may just see Manchester United dominate on and off the field for some time to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment