Finding PSG fans in the Qatari capital can be a challenge, even after a decade since the full takeover of the club by Qatari investors.
By the time Paris Saint-Germain lifted the Trophee Des Champions in Doha’s Stadium 974, only a few fans had stayed back to witness the record-extending triumph.
Some 39,682 people had made their way to the match as the reigning French champions registered a 1-0 win over AS Monaco, courtesy of a late Ousmane Dembele winner.
Two French clubs, playing some 6,300 kilometres away, for a trophy that perhaps matters little in Doha. The expectation that many fans would have stayed behind for the crowning moment is not far-fetched, considering Qatar’s ownership of PSG.
That is, the Trophee Des Champions was supposed to be PSG’s home game in a country that had used its sports investment vehicle, Qatar Sports Investment, to fully acquire the club in 2012, following a 70 per cent takeover a year earlier.
“We’re going to play this match as if it were at home because we are at home,” head coach Luis Enrique had said ahead of the match that would conclude the club’s annual winter camp in Qatar.
Yet most match-goers had left by the time the Paris-based club lifted the trophy, leaving behind a small section of fans who had come from the French capital chanting tirelessly.
A similar scene unfolded in December, when barely 500 fans stayed back at the container-made stadium to watch Pachuca lift the first-ever FIFA Derby of the Americas trophy after defeating Brazil’s Botafogo.
More than 10,000 had turned up to the match, according to the stadium announcement. But by the end, there was little excitement – bar a few Mexican expatriates – by the time Pachuca were crowned.
But the question remains: why wasn’t PSG — almost always referred to in the same line as Qatar recently — not appealing enough for most who had made it to the stadium on January 5?
A Global Projection of Qatar
A day before the match, the club’s official store in Villaggio Mall — a stone’s throw away from Aspire Academy, the country’s talent base — looked regular. The uptick in the number of visitors was not significant, according to the store’s employees.
Outside the store and around the mall, digital boards displayed the match posters. However, there was not much buzz around as barely anyone stopped to notice the Visit Qatar-sponsored French Cup finale.
While outsiders would expect the locals of a relatively small country to overwhelmingly support the club owned by their government, the reality is more complex than that.
Growing local interest in the club after the takeover has come as an automatic byproduct, but there has been little mainstream effort to garner a loyal fanbase.
Instead, Qatar’s actions have been positioned to carefully craft its image as an “open and modern society” to a Western audience, according to Ross Griffin’s book Identity Matters: Qatar and Paris Saint-Germain. Undoubtedly an effort on Qatar’s part to perform its identity at a global scale, it is different from what the country projects internally.
Qatar’s National Vision of 2030 aims to transform itself into an “advanced society capable of sustainable development” while projecting its identity as a modern, progressive and fundamentally Muslim Arab nation. PSG serves a function to emphasise the former two aspects.
According to Griffins, the case in point is that of a situationally aware outwards performance of national identity, to put “Qatari society as a like-minded ally of the Western society”. It has also been referred to as a tactic of “virtual enlargement” to enhance the country’s standing globally.
PSG’s collaboration with high-profile brands, intentionally chosen sponsorship deals, and frequent celebrity sightings at the Parc des Princes – coupled with the club’s location – are all conscious efforts to project its outward identity.
The connection is not so overt or flashy. No Qatar flag flies in Parc Des Princes, and no traces of maroon exist in the club’s colour scheme. Instead, the influence woven through subtle recalls: Qatar’s national bank, its national airline carrier, the state-of-the-art sports medicine hospital, the Aspire Academy, and so on.
Match-day line-up announcements are powered by QNB, the team’s shirt is sponsored by Qatar Airways, and recent posts following Georgian star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s signing have included Aspetar, Aspire Academy’s sports hospital, as a sponsor.
While these global-oriented projections have established PSG as one of the most valuable brands in world football in a relatively short time, it has on the flip side stripped the “Qatari” relatability factor that could appeal to the local fans. Thus, the bases to become a PSG fan are almost the same for someone in Doha as it is for anyone outside of France.
In recent times, PSG has ramped up its annual activities in Doha. A winter camp in the Qatari capital is a mainstay in its calendar. Charities exist, as does an academy that functions in multiple locations across the country. Activations and meet and greets occur every time the team lands in the country.
In January 2023, about 10,000 turned up on a workday evening to watch Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar Jr. train at the Khalifa Stadium – a modest turnout. Most locals passionately support giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and so on — but PSG is yet to belong on that list.
While a local fan club exists, its online presence is limited to a few re-shares, and only a handful of match screenings have been organised to date. Attempts to reach a representative, for this piece, were unsuccessful.
Will the new approach garner an organic fanbase?
When QSI first acquired majority stakes in the club in 2011, one of the points in its five-year plan was to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the next season. PSG had finished fourth last season and were rarely considered as one of France’s most successful clubs. Instead, they were marred by faltering administration, violence amongst its Ultras group, and decreasing interest.
It is fair to say the investment has brought PSG success. They have since become regulars in Europe’s top stage and have won 27 trophies, in a league that has struggled to compete both on and off the pitch. The project came within a touching distance of the coveted Champions League, reaching its first-ever final in 2021.
Not everything has been a hit and there have been huge misses. Critics of the club often point to the approach of buying stars at unprecedented fees, yet failing at the biggest of stages, with Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona often the key point.
Post-Qatar World Cup, the club’s approach has shifted dramatically, especially after the departures of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé. QSI has pivoted towards signing younger players, focusing on developing talent through its academy and the Paris suburbs renowned for producing world-class players.
That tactic is often deemed the more acceptable and sustainable way to succeed in football.
Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but there will likely be more fans in Doha — other than just those in passing — if it yields long-term success.
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