Women of the Ruling Elite as Agents of Qatar’s Sport Diplomacy

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Qatar has strategically utilized sport as a tool for economic diversification and international visibility, particularly since hosting the 15th Asian Games in 2006. As a state reliant on hydrocarbon revenues, Qatar’s investment in Sports Mega Events (SMEs) serves as a means of nation branding and global influence. While extensive scholarship has examined the economic and geopolitical dimensions of this strategy, the role of women—especially from the ruling family and elite—in Qatar’s sports ecosystem remains underexplored. This research addresses this gap by analyzing their contributions to Qatar’s sports, soft power and diplomatic engagement. This study seeks to answer the following research questions: How have Women of the ruling Al Thani family contributed to sports diplomacy? In what ways have their presence and involvement influenced the broader gender discourse in Qatar’s sports sector? What implications do these contributions hold for Qatar’s future Sports mega-events (SMEs) hosting strategies and governance?