Umer Hussain quoted in online story about World Cup to be held in Qatar

Umer Hussain, an assistant professor of business and sports management who started at Ripon this semester, was interviewed for an article published recently on AnalystNews.com.

In the article “The untold stories of Qatar and the FIFA World Cup,” Hussain talks about the controversy surrounding the World Cup being hosted in November in Qatar, the first Middle Eastern County to do so.

“Umer Hussain, who has a Ph.D. in sports marketing, says while the controversies around Qatar are concerning, they’ve detracted from the positive aspects of the first World Cup since the pandemic,” the article states.

“‘One of the goals of FIFA was to grow its own fan base, so that’s why when the FIFA World Cup was awarded to Qatar, it made me very excited,’” Hussain says.

The article says Hussain also noted that because of this World Cup, about five million jobs have been generated, Qatar changed some of its laws to support the rights of migrant workers and to prevent wage theft, and Muslim women are being more encouraged to play sports. However, media have been focusing on the negative aspects of the host country.

Hussain completed his Ph.D. in health and kinesiology (sport management) from Texas A&M University in 2021.