Glory Country Edition: Qatar

It’s as if football is about to land on the moon. A country we all seem to have an opinion about, very seldom backed up through personal experience, has been chosen to deliver the hopes and dreams of millions – the World Cup in 2022. Does Qatar actually have any real football heritage? Isn’t it going to be far too hot? Who is actually going to want to visit? Can we drink? What is the actual story about workers’ welfare? There are lots of questions. So many questions. Whether that’s through our own perceptions, false or not, we just didn’t know what to believe, so we set out to make Qatar our focus for Issue 6. And boy, what a journey.

In our biggest issue yet (at over 200 pages it’s nearly double) we exclusively chat to one of the greatest footballers ever to grace the pitch, Xavi, about adapting to life after Barca in his new role as Head Coach of Al Sadd. We share a coffee with Eto’o, chatting about his involvement with Generation Amazing. And we spend an afternoon sipping lemon and mint with five-time World Cup manager Bora Milutinović, hearing his personal experiences of coaching teams in Mexico ‘86, Italia ‘90 and USA ‘94 to name but a few. 

The issue also includes behind-the-scenes documentation of the new World Cup stadiums, an overview of the domestic QSL league, and a focus on the rise of women’s football in the country.