“It will blow over” tends to be Qatar’s unofficial response to criticism of its World Cup bid, but with a FIFA corruption scandal exploding onto the world’s front pages, the Gulf state has glumly realised it may have a real fight on its hands.

Super-rich Qatar would suffer no economic pain if it lost the right to host the world’s top soccer event. At stake is influence, including its use of sport as a platform to operate on the global stage, opening doors to finance, media, diplomacy, property and tourism.

DOHA, June 1 (Reuters) - "It will blow over" tends to be Qatar's unofficial response to criticism of its World Cup bid, but with a FIFA corruption scandal exploding onto the world's front pages, the Gulf state has glumly realised it may have a real fight on its hands. Super-rich Qatar would suffer no economic pain if it lost the right to host the world's top soccer event. At stake is influence, including its use of sport as a platform to operate on the global stage, opening doors to finance, media, diplomacy, property and tourism.

The president of the Qatari National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammad al-Amadi, announced the launch of a number of new projects for the Gaza Strip on Saturday.  According to official figures from Gaza, 16,000 homes were completely destroyed during last summer's war and another approximately 90,000 were partially destroyed.

Widely viewed as a shrewd financial investor, Qatar's return on investment in soft power designed to position it as a progressive ally of world powers in the hope that they will come to the aid of the wealthy Gulf state in times of emergency is proving to be abysmal. [...] the payback in Qatar's reputation, attitudes of law enforcement-related governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, including trade unions and human rights groups and the public, and media headlines has been everything but congratulatory.

After four years of engagement with its critics in a so far failed bid to turn its hosting of the World Cup into a successful soft power tool, Qatar appears to have decided that the region's tendency to intimidate those who don't fall into line may be a more effective strategy, writes James M. Dorsey.

It was the latest move in what had already been a tumultuous week for the network. Since last week, three top officials have announced their departures from the company and another former employee has sued the network, claiming wrongful termination. 

While Qatar may be winning rounds in international organizations and associations, it is failing in part as result of continued criticism of its labour system to achieve its public diplomacy goals associated with World Cup.