Sport International Relations
Rahim Zare; Mahdi Shariati Feizabadi; Fathollah Havil
Abstract
The presence of the US San Francisco Oil Company in the deserts of Arabia in 1920 and the continued exploration of oil in the Dokhan of Qatar in the 1940s by the British were accompanied by the beginning of the attention of the Sheikhs of the Persian Gulf to football. The numerous and diverse hosting ...
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The presence of the US San Francisco Oil Company in the deserts of Arabia in 1920 and the continued exploration of oil in the Dokhan of Qatar in the 1940s by the British were accompanied by the beginning of the attention of the Sheikhs of the Persian Gulf to football. The numerous and diverse hosting of sports events in the Arab countries of the Middle East has caused sports, especially football, to be referred to as the new oil of this region. The purpose of the current research was to investigate what, why and how Arab countries in the region, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, pay attention to football, and further the role of football in the modern governance of the Middle East. The population and statistical sample was equal to all the English and Persian research conducted in the field of international football, football politics and football geopolitics in the Middle East region. The findings of the research showed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are following the UAE as a sports nation in the region, and both countries are trying to use football as a lever to attract tourists, strengthen the public health of citizens, and create employment and investment to complete the power vacuum in the post-Arab spring period.