In the end, it was all about the football. Even Qatar’s harshest critics had to concede that, in the words of one of the country’s chief lambasters, “this was the greatest Fifa World Cup final … Qatar achieved its perfect final here”. The joy of a tournament of surprises; the roar of unity from an Arab world delighting in Saudi Arabia’s early victory over Argentina and then the tantalising progress of Morocco; the warmth felt by fans from across the continents as they encountered each other in the stadiums or in Doha’s easily recognisable Souq Waqif – all seemed to cut through and fuel the perception that this really has been a very different, but nonetheless terrific, World Cup.
One lesson to be learnt from it all, though, is just how crucial it is that global media is truly diverse, pluralistic and properly representative of the peoples it reports on. Because for much of the competition, the impression was given that “international media” had formed a highly negative opinion of the host country.
Never mind that much of what they put out was either ignorant or wrong. “The Qataris are unaccustomed to seeing women in western dress in their country,” stated one UK newspaper to – one hopes – the eternal embarrassment of its editor. The figure of 6,500 migrant deaths kept on being bandied about as though they had all died through working on the World Cup; when actually, as the German news outlet DW announced in a fact check, it referred “merely to non-Qataris of various nationalities and in various occupations who have died in Qatar in the past decade” and was in line with normal fatalities.
Little mention was made of the fact that Qatar has made significant reforms, under the specific guidance of the International Labour Organisation and International Trade Union Confederation. It would appear that the critics would only be satisfied if no construction at all took place in Qatar, or perhaps anywhere where it is hot. Which it supposedly is in Doha in December – “swelteringly” so, according to one tabloid report – when, as anyone who has lived in the Gulf knows, it can be very chilly in winter.
'International media' is often a euphemism for western media, from Britain and America in particular
So exercised was the BBC by these issues – and of course LGBT, where the clearly stated tolerance of visitors’ private behaviour was not enough; something more performative was required – that the broadcaster refused to show the World Cup opening ceremony at all. Instead, viewers were shown a pompous sermon by the English footballer-turned-broadcaster Gary Lineker – who was later revealed to have previously been paid £1.6 million (about $2 million) to commentate for a TV channel owned by the country he was now so sanctimoniously deploring.
The Emirati political science professor Abdulkhaleq Abdulla labelled the authors of such diatribes “neocolonialists, orientalists and western hypocrites”. Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam, said there was “more than a hint of cultural superiority” in the global media's criticism. “It smacks of hypocrisy. Virtue signalling. With racial undertones,” he wrote on Facebook. “Objective reporting has been in short supply.”
With some honourable exceptions, Mr Shanmugam was correct – when one understands that “international media” is often a euphemism for western media, from Britain and America in particular. These outlets like to see themselves as objective, but they nearly all stand for a very particular viewpoint that has no sympathy for other cultures and values they deem to be “wrong”. As I wrote in these pages eight years ago, they have a tendency to cast all the Arabian Gulf states as “vaguely malign, plutocratic constructs, whose actions and internal structures are automatically suspect because they do not adhere to western notions of liberty and political order". They see little of “the reality of cohesive, traditional societies, united around national cultures and the Islamic faith, ones so free of the scourge of theft that it is perfectly safe to leave laptops, phones and other valuables on, say, a cafe table, and wander off, confident that they will be there on your return".
The beautiful moment after Argentina’s win, when the Emir of Qatar placed a bisht over Lionel Messi’s shoulders, is a case in point. As you would expect, this newspaper, and other regional outlets, reported that this was one of the highest honours the Emir could bestow. Other outlets around the world got it, too. The headline on one Indonesian website, for instance, was “Messi wears bisht cloak in the style of an Arab king when lifting the World Cup trophy”. But many western reporters and outlets, who had clearly made no effort to understand what it meant, described this courteous tribute in ways too offensive to repeat.
There is a deeper context to this. In 1980, the landmark MacBride report on the media published by Unesco stated that, owing to “the predominance of the major transnational agencies in the collection and dissemination of news … the world receives some 80 per cent of its news through London, Paris and New York". This meant that “the image of the developing countries is frequently false and distorted. More serious still, according to some vigorous critics, it is this false image, harmful to their inner balance, which is presented to the developing countries themselves".
Of course, the situation is much better today. But global media is still imbalanced. And that is why diversity has to be championed. If you cherish regional voices and want to hear their viewpoints, we need outlets such as Japan’s Nikkei, Singapore’s The Straits Times, Afghanistan’s Tolo, Myanmar’s The Irrawaddy, and this newspaper. Because culture is local, and values are local, and outsiders who view a region through the lens of their own prejudices cannot be counted on to respect that.
This we have been shown by the World Cup. It concerns not just Qatar, but every country in the Gulf – watch out for Saudi Arabia, if it ends up hosting the 2030 World Cup – every Muslim country, and every people whose culture is conservative and communitarian rather than fiercely individualistic and progressive. That could possibly constitute most of the world. If so, it’s time that its voices are heard as strongly, if not more so, than the unrepresentative cabal known as “international media”. For they will be sure to have in their sights any developing or Global South country that next has the audacity to host one of the world’s top sporting events.
Sholto Byrnes is an East Asian affairs columnist for The National. Based in Malaysia, he previously spent many years living in the Arabian Gulf
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
Scorecard
Scotland 220
K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35
UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs
C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Tamkeen's offering
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The specs
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
