The Qatar national football team was only formed in 1970 and is currently ranked outside FIFA's top 100.
They have never qualified for a World Cup and have only come close once - losing at home to Saudi Arabia in the final game of qualifying for France 98 when a victory would have taken them there.
However, slowly but steadily Qatar is increasing their presence in international sports panorama and especially in the football industry, after having been granted organization of Olympic Games Qatar 2020 and World Football Cup 2022, which is still a controversial topic.
"For Qatar, it's not just about hosting the biggest tournament on the planet or investing in European clubs like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona and broadcasting through Al-Jazeera and beIN Sports. It's also about becoming a power in Asian football. Qatar would really prefer a first appearance not to be when they qualify automatically in 2022."
Qatar will be host to the next Olympic Games, after 2016 OG which will take place in Brazil. Dr. Thani will be attending WFS and representing the Qatar industry during his participation in the Forum.