Global Leaders Mix Sports and Diplomacy on the World Cup

Some journeys by congressional officers have been paid for by Qatar, which is allowed underneath certain rules, a U.S. official stated.

The go to by Mr. Menendez was funded by the State Department, as was a separate journey by Mr. Murphy and Mr. Young on which they met with Qatari officers and spoke with Mr. Blinken within the stadium throughout the U.S.-Wales match.

Mr. Adams, who watched the United States play the Netherlands, advised reporters he paid for his personal lodging — “It’s on my dime.” Mr. Adams’s schedule didn’t listing with whom he was assembly, however he posted a photograph of himself with the American staff’s coach, Gregg Berhalter, and stated in a telephone briefing from Doha that he was visiting partly to take a look at the transit system and examine how New York might assist host the 2026 World Cup, set to happen throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The new U.S. ambassador to Qatar, Timmy T. Davis, has attended many matches and carried out a gentle stream of social media posts on the match, together with a video of him and the Dutch ambassador cooking breakfast collectively earlier than their groups confronted off.

In the run-up to the World Cup, Mr. Davis spoke to Bella Hadid, an American mannequin, at a cultural occasion in Doha. Ms. Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, visited an exhibition of Palestinian embroidery, and stated on Instagram, “This show brought tears to my eyes.” Qatar is a robust supporter of the Palestinians, and Arab soccer followers and the Moroccan staff have displayed the Palestinian flag within the streets and stadiums.

Mr. Davis stated in an interview that Qatar had “prepared for the opportunity to tell their story,” that means the narrative of the dominion, and “invited people specifically and generally so that they could come and see Qatar. I have no doubt that a great deal of business was done.”

Mr. Davis famous that Americans have been the second-largest group of ticket consumers, and that attendees had come from the fields of leisure, growth, humanitarian help, expertise and power.