International football is meant to be a celebration of joy, a show of unity, a platform to showcase the best of the best.
The inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, scheduled for 2028, aims to embody that spirit.
Discussions about hosting the tournament in Qatar have sparked controversy, given the country’s stance on women’s rights, workers’ rights, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Women’s football is seen as an inclusive, welcoming and supportive environment where people can be themselves. For LGBTQ+ players and supporters, attending the tournament could pose serious legal and social risks under Sharia law.
Women in Qatar often face limited autonomy, barriers to employment and education, and constraints to personal freedom, highlighting a broader context in which the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people are curtailed.
Many individuals in the women’s game openly speak about important social topics, and potentially hosting the Club World Cup in a country where women’s rights are restricted and marginalised, makes the choice of Qatar as a host particularly contentious.
With Qatar in talks to host the tournament, many are questioning whether the same issues are being overlooked once again.
Women’s football in Qatar
One of the most contentious issues surrounding Qatar’s potential hosting of the Club World Cup is the country’s limited history and development of women’s football.
Lack of infrastructure, as well as domestic and international leagues, player development pathways, and attitudes towards the sport have significantly limited its advancement.
Despite forming a national team in 2009, the squad has not played an official match since 2014 and remains unregistered with FIFA.
Their last ranking was in 2015, where they ranked 139 out of 147 teams. The team initially played several fixtures in the 2010s but fell out of the competitive circuit after failing to qualify for several tournaments.
There has been little development in player pathway programmes, funding, or coaching structures, with all positions except the manager’s remaining vacant, highlighting the country’s minimal investment in the women’s game.
Players have limited opportunities to develop their skills, gain competitive experience, or play in international competitions, largely due to the absence of structured domestic women’s leagues.
Most players are relatively unknown, with few clubs associated with them, and official information on the squad or the history of women’s football in the country is scarce.
This contrasts sharply with the men’s side, where information is publicly available, including youth development, history, and leagues, raising questions about visibility, recognition, and long-term commitment toward women’s football.
Domestic women’s leagues are largely absent or not publicly documented, reinforcing the broader lack of institutional support for the women’s game.
In recent years, Qatar has created several academies and grassroots programmes, including the Aspire Academy and PSG, aimed at developing the next generation.
The Education City Stadium is set to become the ‘home of women’s football’, with the Aspire Academy becoming a centre of excellence.
Although these developments are part of Qatar’s 2030 vision for women’s football, and PSG offers programmes for aspiring young players through the Qatar Investment Authority, opportunities for women to continue their development remain extremely limited.
Even years later, despite links with the Qatari state, the women’s national team has little cooperation or exposure, often playing behind closed doors, a stark contrast to the openness of men’s academy leagues.
One player noted:
“At PSG, there are male coaches; it is open to everyone.”
The scarcity of coaching and player development pathways, combined with limited infrastructure, few competitive opportunities, and the absence of domestic leagues, raises questions about whether investments are genuinely supporting long-term growth or remain largely symbolic.
This is a situation noted by those with experience in Qatar’s elite football scene, who see little reason to expect significant progress.
Aya Jurdi, a Lebanese women’s international and coach at the PSG Academy, pointed to a clear gap in management and long-term commitment to developing the women’s game in Qatar.
She revealed that offers to support and collaborate with the national team were discussed but ultimately rejected, underlining the absence of cooperation and willingness to invest.
“We tried to give them that idea, but nothing happened from their side.”
“They are not interested yet in investing in women’s football. If they gave the freedom to [former Qatar head coach Monika Staab] which she has now in Saudi Arabia, they would be in a better place.”
While academies and grassroots initiatives are frequently cited as signs of progress, these issues also point to a system built around optics rather than opportunity.
Development cannot occur without sustained investment, opportunity, and access, elements largely missing from women’s football in Qatar.
Beyond development, scheduling and competition structures present another significant challenge for players, teams, and domestic leagues.
Competition scheduling and player welfare
Beyond long-term development concerns, questions have also been raised about player welfare and scheduling.
The tournament is expected to take place in January 2028, a decision likely influenced by the country’s climate, but one that could significantly disrupt the international and domestic calendar.
Similar issues were widely debated during the 2022 men’s World Cup, where congested fixtures, extended travel, and limited recovery time led to widespread fatigue, injuries, and criticism over player welfare.
For women’s football, these concerns may be even more pronounced due to weaker professional structures, limited medical and recovery support, and less developed domestic leagues.
Increased schedule congestion places players at greater risk of physical strain and long-term injury, while also disrupting youth development by affecting pathways for future talent.
Scheduling changes often overlap or conflict with national team obligations, leaving players to balance domestic commitments with international fixtures and reducing competitive opportunities.
For smaller leagues, such as those in Qatar, scheduling disruptions could halt domestic competitions entirely, as few fixtures and minimal professional structures exist to accommodate extended breaks.
Unlike most established football nations, where players gain experience in professional leagues overseas, Qatar’s women’s football remains almost entirely domestic.
Most players in the national team play in the country, with the only clubs represented at the elite level being Qatar SC and Al-Khor.
While the country has its own league system, the Qatar Women’s Football League, it is small and limited in scope, and not fully professional. Only six teams compete, with matches attracting little attention or media coverage.
Infrastructure, training facilities, and coaching resources lag behind more established footballing nations, offering few opportunities for competitive play or skill development.
This lack of international experience further increases players’ vulnerability to fixture congestion and limits exposure to high-level competition.
The league’s small size and low visibility also hinder the popularity and growth of the game.
Unlike Western sport, which has widespread support, media coverage and sponsorship, women’s football in Qatar remains niche, with minimal attendance, media attention and public awareness, with attendances attracting a few dozen to a few hundred spectators.
Matches involving the national team or high-profile friendlies rarely draw large crowds, whereas men’s league games can attract thousands, especially for clubs like Al-Sadd or Al-Rayyan.
This low popularity underscores the challenges Qatar faces in preparing for a major international women’s tournament, where competitive readiness and public engagement are key.
Such a tournament places significant demands on host nations, not only in terms of infrastructure and scheduling, but also in fan engagement, media interest, and commercial viability.
In countries where women’s football is already well established, strong attendance figures, broadcast audiences, and sponsorship support help sustain these events.
In Qatar, where women’s football continues to attract limited public attention, questions remain over whether the domestic environment can generate the atmosphere, visibility and long-term legacy expected of a global tournament.
Qatar was awarded the men’s World Cup based on its close relationship with FIFA, due to its infrastructure, and ready-made climate. As discussions continue around hosting the Women’s Club World Cup, similar factors appear to be driving the conversation once again.
The lack of domestic infrastructure, limited player pathways and low public engagement raise serious questions about Qatar’s readiness to host a tournament of this scale.
However, women’s football presents different demands, not only logistical, but ethical, developmental and cultural.
As talks continue, the issue is no longer simply whether Qatar can host another global event, but whether women’s football is being asked to compromise its values, player welfare and long-term development to do so.
https://www.qfa.qa/en/football/history
