There will be plenty of reaction on today's announcements of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 in the coming hours and days. For now, some quick thoughts from a journalism colleague of mine who's been stationed in Doha for the past few years, when I asked her about the city's reaction to FIFA's decision:
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Freaking out! The entire city just exploded ... They were so worked up about it -- this is going to mean a drastic change to every part of this city, as well as some international respect. Qatar's got a serious inferiority/superiority complex thing going on in regards to the rest of the (Gulf Coast countries) so this is a biggie.
Not to mention, for us expats, it means they're actually going to finish all sorts of facilities that have been on inshallah time for years -- the new airport for example, the perpetual road construction, the man-made island, etc. They'll also have to start sorting out their attitudes towards all things haraam, which I'm excited for -- right now, you can get fined for showing your shoulders in public if someone deems it indecent, you need a special license predicated on your nationality and religion to buy liquor, and don't even think about touching someone of the opposite sex in public. They will have to get over that before 2022.
They'll also have to actually ditch this infuriating sponsorship system, like Kuwait just did, in order to not seem like a slave holding country on the world stage. So all in all, there's a whole lot to be excited about!
Myself, I'm just hoping they take down this massive billboard they've plastered on my apartment building.
One more question. How's the weather today?
25 degrees and sandy.
And it's December 2. Yikes.