The Contribution of Event Quality Factors on the Development of Memorable Tourism Experiences: Evidence from the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The aim of this study is to test the applicability of the construct of memorable tourism experience in the context of a mega-sport event, and to investigate the contribution of event quality factors on the development of memorable tourism experiences. For the accomplishment of this aim, thestudy investigated the experiences of a sample of international spectators who attended the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches hosted in St. Petersburg, Russia. Data collection took place on-site during the group stage matches hosted at the stadium and was conducted with a self-completion questionnaire using two scales, one for memorable tourism experience and one for event quality factors. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the psychometric properties of revised versions of the two scales. Multiple regression analysis showed that memorable tourism experiences were significantly predicted by the event quality factors, with the authenticity, entertainment, venue quality, and event competition dimensions having the most significant contributions. Theoretical and management implications are discussed.

Sport and International Relations: Qatari Soft Power and Foreign Policy Making

Sport plays a significant role in politics and international relations. However, the relationship between soft power and hosting a sports mega-event such as the Olympic Games, or the FIFA world cup is unclear. Most literature that has examined the role of sport in Qatari soft power adheres to the Realist School of international relations theory. It has tended to emphasize the size of the country in understanding what motivates its engagement in sports diplomacy. This paper attempts to move beyond this realist analysis of soft power by drawing on the post-structuralist –interpretive approach and discourse theory. This perspective better accounts for how sports diplomacy is used in different cultural contexts. In arguing that Qatar represents particular cultural and historical traditions, and sports define the country’s distinct political identity, the paper looks at how Qatar has exercised soft power through sports diplomacy and hosting major international sports events. The paper will analyze formal state discourses surrounding Qatar’s decision to host FIFA World Cup 2022, and we discuss how this use of sports diplomacy is helping achieve several Qatari foreign policy goals.

Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19: Implications for control measures in Qatar

Public health control measures for communicable diseases are often based on the identification of symptomatic cases. However, emerging epidemiological evidence demonstrates the role of pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmissions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Understanding high-risk settings where transmissions can occur from infected individuals without symptoms has become critical for improving the response to the pandemic. In this review, we discussed the evidence on the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, its effect on control strategies, and lessons that can be applied in Qatar. Although Qatar has a small population, it has a distinct setting for COVID-19 control. It has a largely young population and is mostly composed of expatriates particularly from the Middle East and Asia that reside in Qatar for work. Further key considerations for Qatar and travel include population movement during extended religious holiday periods, screening and tracing of visitors and residents at entry points into the country, and expatriates living and working in high-density settings. We also consider how its international airport serves as a major transit destination for the region, as Qatar is expected to experience a rapid expansion of visitors while preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Revisiting the Effect of Team Passion Displayed During National Anthems on Subsequent Success: A Replication and Extension

Slater, Haslam & Steffens (2018) found that the perceived level of team passion displayed during (pre-match) national anthems at UEFA Euro 2016 predicted team performance during the match. Teams that displayed greater passion conceded fewer goals and team passion predicted the likelihood of victory during the knockout (but not group) stages. Here, we replicate Slater et al. using a larger sample of matches from the FIFA World Cup (n = 415), and apply more appropriate analyses, and control for potential confounds. We also extend the original study to consider additional performance-related outcome variables (fouls, bookings, and possession). We found no empirical support for the effect of passion on performance outcomes. Supplementary materials, raw data and analysis files are available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/q2urw).

Introducing LASSO-type penalisation to generalised joint regression modelling for count data

In this work, we propose an extension of the versatile joint regression framework for bivariate count responses of the package by Marra and Radice (R package version 0.2-3, 2020) by incorporating an (adaptive) LASSO-type penalty. The underlying estimation algorithm is based on a quadratic approximation of the penalty. The method enables variable selection and the corresponding estimates guarantee shrinkage and sparsity. Hence, this approach is particularly useful in high-dimensional count response settings. The proposal’s empirical performance is investigated in a simulation study and an application on FIFA World Cup football data.

Resiliency Assessment of Road Networks during Mega Sport Events: The Case of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Hosting Mega Sport Events (MSEs) is a formidable expedition that requires enormous investments and that has the potential to reform the nation’s future and create a lasting legacy. However, the increase in environmental concerns is pushing host cities to adopt a compact event approach. Compactness increases the concentration of the load on host cities’ infrastructures, which have to preserve an acceptable level of functionality under any possible disturbance; in other words, they should be resilient. Among these infrastructures, the road network plays the most prominent role in the fans’ experiences and the event’s success. To assess its resilience during MSE, we proposed a multilevel assessment approach that focuses on the network cohesion and critical trips performance under several disturbance scenarios, including natural hazards, intentional attacks, and accidents. The framework was applied to the Doha road network, since Doha will be a host city for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, which exhibited a high level of resilience to intentional attacks and accidents scenarios. However, during the natural hazard scenario (flooding), the network experienced severe fragmentation, signaling weak resilience and highlighting the need to improve storm management plans. Future research could investigate the use of weighted graphs to increase the accuracy or incorporate different assessment approaches into the framework.