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Qatar has become the favorite destination for many Iranian players seeking fame and fortune , perhaps much of the latter and little of the former. The Qatar Star League (QSL) has replaced the UAE league, which for decades was the platform of choice for Iranian players who wished to play in a foreign league.

While there is no doubt that money is the catalyst the migrations to QSL, as it is the richest league in the Middle East backed by the immense petrodollars of the country and the sport loving ruling family, there are other reasons for players to feel contented in Qatar.

The structure of the league is truly professional, and not just by name. The system is run by football professionals and with the wealth that is at the disposal of the league, they simply buy and recruit the best whether it is the players, coaches, referees, analysts, administrators and even media personnel. The league is highly organized and played in a systematic and orderly manner. The media coverage, with a dedicated TV Station, Al Kass with several channels in High Definition broadcast, is by far the best in the region if not all of Asia.

The QSL follows the top European standards in organization and has a long term plan, It publishes the calendar of events months ahead of the start of the competition covering the whole season. The marketing and promotion of the league is also one of a kind with dedicated professional taking care of business and realizing good revenues. 

The clubs facilities are the best in the Middles East by far. Although the UAE is in a stiff competition with Qatar to claim sports leadership and to have the best football league, Qatar has simply overtaken all the other countries in the Middle East in development of infrastructure , training facilities, stadiums and peripheral  structures to serve the clubs. The Qataris have certainly done it in style.

Qatar is world famous for sporting events with many sporting competition played there annually. There is nothing bigger than the FIFA World Cup, Qatar is hosting it in 2022. The Federation is also a leader in arranging big friendly matches in Doha that attracts thousand s of spectators from across the Middles East. Brazil , Argentina , England and others have all played friendly matches in the 60,000 capacity Khalifa Stadium.

However, it is not all good news and glossy for the QSL. Despite all the efforts and the promotions, Qatar has the lowest figures of crowd attendances in the whole of the region. Apart from a few matches in the season, mainly between the big clubs like Al Sadd , Al Arabi and the recently relegated Al Rayyan, the majority of the matches are characterless unexciting events. 

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[column size=”1/2″] You can virtually hear the fans talking amongst themselves while watching on TV with attendances numbers in the hundreds or lower. The competition atmosphere is pretty unimpressive and lacks the excitement that drives many players to excel. It is what one can call a sleepy league, where many famous European players come to spend the twilight of their careers while making good money at such late stages. The type of money that European clubs simply refuse to offer them. With all that in mind. Where does the Iranian player stands in Qatar?

To start with, the players will be taken care off in style. The facilities available to them are simply way better than Iran. The playing fields are truly a world class standards higher than anything they have experienced back home, which will serve the Iranians skills and creativity.  Almost all the clubs have famous European or Latin American coaches, which will be an advantage to Iranian players, as they can learn from such experiences. The foreign players in the Qatari league should also form a good competition for the Iranians.

So , it is not just the money that is an advantage for Iranian players in QSL. When everything is put into perspective, Qatar seems to be the ideal place for Iranian players , a head and shoulder above the domestic league in Iran. The only disadvantage for the Iranians, and some players might sourly miss from the Persian Gulf League, is the lack of atmosphere in the stadiums and no travelling for away matches. Qatar is, for all intents and purposes, a city Country. All the teams are located in the Capital city of Doha bar one or two that are not very far away anyway.

Socially speaking , the players should feel at home in Doha as there is a large Iranian and Persian community in Qatar . The logistic are simple and a flight from Doha to Tehran is less than 2 hours in duration, while Shiraz is less than an hour away.

Whether all this is an advantage is really dependent on the player himself. If Ali Karimi experience is taken into consideration, then it turned out to be negative. However, Karimi is a unique character. Others will certainly find rooms for self-improvement and good competitions if they wish to.

Finally. The Qatari’s are not the most tolerant lot. They don’t have much time for feeble performances. There is always pressure on foreign players to perform, sometimes unrealistically, because they are highly paid. It is a standard practice for them to point the fingers at foreign players when their teams lose.

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