2022 is the World Cup year. Players from all over the world are trying their best to give an excellent performance in the club and shine on the stage of the World Cup in Qatar.

On December 2, 2010, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced that Qatar had won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. The World Cup will be held in winter for the first time and last for 29 days, from November 20 to December 18, at 12 stadiums in seven cities in Qatar.

What could Qatar benefit from the 2022 World Cup?

Qatar, as one of the richest countries in the world, although not short of money, is also eager for the huge economic benefits of the World Cup. The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry released a report, predicting that the 2022 Qatar World Cup will bring 7.5 billion dollars in direct economic income, and the long-term income from 2023 to 2035 can reach 9.9 billion rials (about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars).

During the game, 1.2 million to 1.5 million tourists will visit Qatar, which will make Qatar's aviation, hotel and tourism industries benefit the most. Moreover, the brand effect of the World Cup will bring long-term commercial value to Qatar and promote the sustainable growth of tourism and other industries.

The report also pointed out that in preparation for the great event, Qatar has invested more than 200 billion dollars in infrastructures such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, subways, and housing. A large amount of fiscal expenditures drove Qatar's economic growth by 1.5 percentage points.

Of course, Qatar's bid for the right to host the World Cup is not only to make more money, but also to enhance international popularity and influence. The World Cup will strengthen Qatar's friendly exchanges with other countries, gain new opportunities for foreign cooperation and promote political security. This is important for a landlocked country that relies heavily on food imports.

Could hosting the World Cup really bring more returns?

Hosting the event, often viewed as a show of a country's economy and reputation, doesn't always lead to a boost in GDP growth and can even lead to negative economic effects.

Previous research has found that the 1994 World Cup hosted by the US was more of a liability than an economic opportunity. U.S. host cities may have incurred up to $9.3 billion of cumulative losses, against expected $4 billion gain.

But winning the World Cup can help the economy. Research by the University of Surrey estimates that winning the FIFA World Cup significantly boosts GDP growth in the two quarters following the tournament because of exports growth.

Natalie Warb, a financial expert from CouponBirds, breaks down how the World Cup affects economic activity. "The World Cup will affect the information dissemination of the media and people's emotions in a few months, creating more entertainment needs, thereby affecting the business cycle." Fans are preparing all supplies for exciting travel, as well as booking hotels and air tickets long before the start of the World Cup. Promote the sales of related industries and indirectly affect other industries.

The benefits of the World Cup to the economy are obvious, but why do some countries make ends meet and even fall into debt traps because of hosting the World Cup? First of all, let's understand how the benefits of hosting the World Cup are distributed.

The hosting of the World Cup is an unfair distribution of benefits.

The rights to host the World Cup are not easy to get. For a country to host the World Cup, it must have qualified infrastructure and compete with other countries for bidding. The standards set by FIFA are very high. In order to successfully accept players and fans from all over the world, the host country must have high-quality stadiums and sufficient hotel rooms that can accommodate thousands of people. All of this requires huge government investment.

However, most of the new stadiums built for the World Cup were rarely used later. Taxpayers paid for it without receiving benefits such as improved health care.

The main profits from World Cup games come from ticket sales and selling television rights to the event. The host country does not receive any share of these profits. These profits belong only to FIFA. The money is collected by FIFA and the cost is passed on to the country's taxpayers.

It's obviously very unfair. But it's strange that many countries are still trying to bid for the rights to host the World Cup. That would make sense if taxpayers were paid off in tourism growth. In fact, the World Cup has already reached cooperation with well-known international brands, and only sponsors' products can be sold around the stadium. A handful of FIFA officials have asked the Brazil government to ban small local vendors from selling goods near stadiums.

Tourism is often reported by the mainstream media as a major benefit of the World Cup. The reason is that people from all over the world flock to the host country. As a result, local hotels and restaurants make money and the overall economy gets a boost. There is truth to this theory, but it is exaggerated.

The rise in tourism is only temporary. As soon as the World Cup was over, tourism returned to previous levels. A healthy tourism industry needs many supports, such as cultural development, infrastructure construction and environmental protection. Explosive growth in the short time does not lead to long-term healthy growth.

Furthermore, all the money FIFA makes during the World Cup is tax-free. FIFA's monopoly power enables it to get governments to accept such lopsided deals. People only saw the glamor on the surface, but they didn't know that the FIFA World Cup took away money from the poorest people.