The Spanish Supercopa, hosted by Saudi Arabia in January, is just one of dozens of major sporting events now held in the Gulf

The Spanish Supercopa, hosted by Saudi Arabia in January, is just one of dozens of major sporting events now held in the Gulf

Around 80,000 fans were hoping to see Lionel Messi take on Lamine Yamal in Doha, while thousands more were gearing up for the F1 grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but the war in the Middle East had other plans. 

The Gulf countries have invested vast sums of money in bringing global sporting events to their shores as they try to diversify their hydrocarbon-dependant economies and improve their images abroad.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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