The Qatar Handball merceneries and what it means for 2022

[Kraut and Tea]

I guess most people did not follow the handball world cup 2015 that was hosted in Qatar and neither did I to be honest.

However I did notice that the media here took some interest in it for a few days but the story then phased into nothing after nobody seemd to care. Here is a summery of what caused the controversy arround the event:

• 15 of the 23 Qatari national handball squad were foreigners.
• All of them professionals and world class players who had received money to accept Qatari citizenship and play for Qatar, an Austrian player commented that it was "a selection of the worlds best"
• Qatar flew in "fans" from Spain and Morocco, paying them to cheer for the Qatar team
• The Qatari hosts decided to kick Australia, who had qualified and had a good team, out of the competition and replace them with germany who had not qualified.
• The referees made several very dubious decisions during all matches with Qatar that favored Qatar, the Polish team showed it`s disgust by sarcasticly applauding the referees

So.... Well... I remember how prior to the 2010 world cup there was some controversy as the German FA put in a formal complaint at FIFA about Qatari sheiks scouting for talented 8-12 year old football enthusiasts in the Balkans, Brazil, Eastern Europe and Sub Sahara Africa, offering their parents Qatari citizenship. FIFA rules on national team selection are far more strickt, a player can not switch sides after playing at a world cup or continental championship. In the case of this Qatari Handball team some of it`s players had played in previous handball world cups for France, Spain and Montenegro.

I guess this means a very bleak future for those of us who love football.... It will mean that we might see a complete mercenery team during the 2018 and 2022 world cups on the side of Qatar.
Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iran invested 30-40 years of very hard work to get to the top of Asian football. The Qataris seem to have no interest in doing the hard work and in the future we will see more turncoats like Diego Costa playing for nations like Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE.

[Petrucci]

Pretty much the same can be said for Poles and Turks playing for Germany. Why is first wrong and second alright? If Qatar wants to pay for their talent and make them their citizen,and they accept it I don't mind. It will for sure strengthen quality of the competition, promote sport and give much needed reason to many kids for training this money deficient,but still beautiful sport.

[Wulfburk]

I personally am totally against any kind of nationalization where the kid has stayed at least the first 10/12 years of his life in his home country if both his parents were from the respective country.. If he has done that, i`d make it in sports and football in particular that he`d not be able to play for any other national squad. (its different though if his parents were from another country and etc)

Players like Diego Costa and etc completely kill the purpose behind national competitions. If you want to involve money and etc directly, do it a club level, which is what we have. Clubs arent enough for you guys?

Qatar is just summarizing what has been happening lately. Thiago Motta, etc etc.



Wanna strenghten quality of the football on a exotic country, promote sport and give much needed reason to many kids to train in this sport and make a living outta it?

Do it at club level.


Though the olympics is even worse.

[Ishoss]

The answer is simple: If you think FIFA is too corrupt for your liking, don't get interested into handball. It's a crazy place.

And it's not at all like poles or turks playing for Germany. In football there are actual rules: if you have played for the national team in a match which isn't a friendly, then you can not switch sides. You have to choose the team you want to play for. If that happens to be Germany and you're eligible - then who the are we to tell said player "no! You should feel like a pole!"

That would simply be ridicolous. In handball however, you can play for one team and then for another later on. Like it used to be in football: Di Stefano and Puskas did, after all, play for Spain.

You will never see Messi play for Qatar. The equivalent could happen in handball.

[Petrucci]

I thought there's same rule in handball. One that allow you to switch nations as long as you haven't played competitive game for senior team.
Note: In football ,it's possible to play U19 o' U21 for one national team and start senior carrier in another.

[Sir Adrian]

The Qatar world cup will be such an epic failure that no MIddle Eastern country will be selected to host it again this century.

[ccllnply]

I'm all for players being eligible for multiple countries if there is actually a link there, even if it is just their grandmother. It keeps competition for places high and allows players who are just short of making the cut in their home country to play international football (although admittedly very few take that option). Giving people money to accept citizenship is essentially just a transfer and since those aren't allowed in international football, FIFA's laws should block it. I don't think even they are corrupt enough for that.

Handball just sounds ridiculous. The reason players like Di Stefano and Puskas were able to switch between countries was because back then, football wasn't worth as much. Players and clubs didn't have the money and air travel was still awkward and expensive. Travelling back and forth between your home country and where you lived every few weeks was just a nuisance, especially if you had lived in a place for 10+ years for your job. Nowadays the problem with air travel for footballers is which private jet has more comfortable leather so you have to regulate it or international football would be a mess and just be pointless.

For the handball governing body to not regulate that is just lazy and idiotic. I mean what sort of competitions do you expect to have if players can just switch teams as you please. Hell, here in Ireland most amateur sporting organisations require you to complete a transfer if you want to play for a different club. If anything I admire the Qatar Handball Association (or, more likely, government) for taking advantage of it. It'd be stupid not to.

[Ishoss]

I thought there's same rule in handball. One that allow you to switch nations as long as you haven't played competitive game for senior team.
Note: In football ,it's possible to play U19 o' U21 for one national team and start senior carrier in another.

Nope. Some of Qatar's players this championship had played in the championship for Montenegro, Spain, Bosnia etc.

[Adar]

Pretty much the same can be said for Poles and Turks playing for Germany. Why is first wrong and second alright? If Qatar wants to pay for their talent and make them their citizen,and they accept it I don't mind. It will for sure strengthen quality of the competition, promote sport and give much needed reason to many kids for training this money deficient,but still beautiful sport.

Those Poles and Turks are German due to immigrating and I am more skeptic about the ones who doesn't cut it in Germany and play for "home" countries they've never lived in.

[Basil II the B.S]

Stop ruining sports Qatar.

[Kraut and Tea]

I just read a bit through the history of Qatar football and through some infor on the Qatar national team and wanted to share this.

In the Qatar mens national football team there are:

One Senegalese player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Burhan

One Kuwaiti player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Majid

One Bahraini player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Assadalla

One Sudanese player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magid_Mohamed

One Algerian player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boualem_Khoukhi

One Ghanean player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Muntari

One Egyptian player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Abdul_Maqsoud

One Congolese player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tresor_Kangambu

Two French players:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dame_Traor%C3%A9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karim_Boudiaf

None of these are the children of immigrants to Qatar, but nationalised players who played in various different leagues and were specificaly recruited and given citizenship to play for the Qatari mens national team.

Things however look very different concerning the Qatari youth team that is being made in the "Aspire Academy".... not better though, but much worse. The vast majrity of football recruits in the academy are foreigners. The Qataris recuit these 8-12 year old kids from their families in poor Arab nations, Africa, Iran, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and apparently even from South and Central America. The Qataris pay each family that hands over their child to the academy 5000$ a month and in exchange the child accepts Qatari citizenship. Since double citizenship is illigal under Qatari law, these kids must be recruited for the purpose of creating a Qatar national team and not to further the sport in the world.

When I opend this thread I didn`t think that the situation was that bad. But apparently it is actualy even worse than the handball situation. Luckyly it is only the Qataris who engage in this repulsive behavior. The Omanis, Saudis, Kuwaitis, UAE, Bahrain, Jordanians and others in the region are still mainly furthering their own talent. In fact, the Egyptian and Saudi FAs have even complained about the Qataris, even getting FIFA to say that Qatar will be monitored. But I guess Qatar will be getting away with this sleaze.

[Basil II the B.S]

Lol at FIFA saying Qatar will be monitored.
That's it.
They'' let them get way with it and keep watching.