The World Cup football tournament is the most-anticipated, the most-watched, the most-talked-about event on planet Earth.
The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world; not only that, but it’s also the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event in the world. The cumulative viewership of all matches of the 2006 World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup to date. A combined 3.572 billion viewers – more than half of the global population aged four and over – tuned in to world football’s ultimate competition, according to audience data for official broadcast coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Qatar is by far the only country with the highest buying value of any country in the Art market. Sheikha Al-Mayasa Bint Hamas Al-Thani, the sister of Qatar’s ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani as the Chairperson of Qatar Museums alone, reportedly bought Paul Gauguin’s ‘When Will You Marry?’ In February 2015 from the Rudolph Staechelin family for about USD 300 million, Cezanne’s ‘The Card Players’ in 2012 for USD 250 million, as well as Mark Rothko’s ‘White Center—Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose’—in 2007 for USD 70 million, and works from other artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jeff Koons.
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The Great Heist Prologue
All the world was here in Qatar. Most notably in Lusail—a coastal city in the southern municipality of Al-Daayen—and approximately twenty-three kilometers north of the city center of Doha. For three weeks on, the planned city had witnessed and recorded the biggest influx of people arriving in the city proper and the country as a whole. Hence, leading to an upward surge in the number of people in the city from roughly 450,000 to about 600,000. This among other things, had spurred city officials and the Qatari government into taking necessary actions to make stopgap plans to create more accommodations and breathing space within the city—which was initially proposed to have the infrastructure to accommodate a mere 400,000 people.Today was no different, either. Despite the nippy climate of late December, the traffic on this Sunday evening on all major freeways, thoroughfares, and causeways throughout the city of Lusail was heavy and near-congested. The lightest and most accessible traf
The Great Heist Chapter One
The Lusail Iconic stadium was a madhouse. Presently, its 105 m x 68 m (344 ft by 223 ft) grass pitch was nothing short of a crime scene from a mystery flick with the current buzz of activity. Everyone from standard security personnel at the stadium to stewards, and the smart-looking police officers and their counterparts from other Qatari Intelligence agencies—mainly, the Qatar State Security had one thing, or the other to attend to at the moment. This had been the new normal in the stadium ever since The World Cup Trophy had been pronounced missing by FIFA Officials. And had lasted for about thirty minutes, or so, with each and every one of the men responsible for security and policing present here at the stadium being thrown into total restiveness. Things happened really fast after the smoke incident. Men from the Rescue Police Department—otherwise known here as Al Fazaa— heavily dressed and equipped as stormtroopers had stormed the scene, joining with the stewards and the stadiu
The Great Heist Chapter Two
Since the completion of over 70% of its infrastructure in 2018, the planned city of Lusail was witnessing an unprecedented record of activities on its streets so far.This was currently evident on all streets within the Sports district and its axis; as people—mostly locals— from all walks of life gathered around as bystanders to witness what seemed to be a rather unexpected ending to the greatest event on earth which they have witnessed for almost a month now. However, it appears this new surge in activities was not about to end just yet. Because a new wave of siren wails split the Lusail air, as a motorcade barreled down the Al-Khor Coastal road of its Sports District.The fleet, led by the sweepers—three Porsche Panamera police cruisers—and guarded at the rear by four Toyota Land Cruiser V8s breezed past the crowds of bystanders lining the Al-Khor Coastal road on both sides in a stream. Then, followed a sharp right at a turn into the stadium’s proper, before coming to a screeching
The Great Heist Chapter Three
The last couple of minutes had been the longest and most demanding in Amman’s life. What started out for him as yet another ordinary day at work had turned out to be his worst nightmare. So much so that, he wished for nothing more at the moment than to sit down and get some rest. Also, for the first time in his illustrious career, he regretted being superior on this occasion.Having enjoyed the luxury of being a high-ranking Intelligence officer which comes with hefty salaries and extra privileges for some years now, Amman knew being a superior most times counted as something. While, at the same time he also knew that on some rare occasions, it doesn’t, and it simply means being under great pressure and scrutiny. Sadly, for him, he had learned earlier that today was one of such occasions when being a superior was such a huge burden rather than a luxury. Being the highest-ranking Intelligence officer at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, he had been sent into overdrive the second a bomb went
The Great Heist Chapter Four
“Thirty minutes after an explosion and a smoke incident here at the Lusail Arena, the World Cup Trophy is still nowhere to be found.” Liam was saying into the microphone before the wails of sirens speared through the air around the stadium.Acting out of pure curiosity like the true journalist that he was, he removed his gaze fastened on the camera’s focus and turned around to the source of the recent explosion of sound in time to notice the motorcade arriving in the distance.“It appears we have new arrivals on the scene now,” when his voice returned over the microphone, the camera’s focus had tilted away from him, and now covered the procession of vehicles arriving in the stadium’s parking lot. “There’s a higher chance that one of the concerned officials in the Qatari law enforcement agencies just arrived in a motorcade. But, the big question remains; who amongst these men just arrived in that motorcade? The city’s Commissioner of Police, or perhaps the Qatari Inspector General of p
The Great Heist Chapter Five
Some hundred thousand miles away from the City of Lusail, Qatar.In the heart of bustling Queensbridge, Long Island City; a commercial and residential neighborhood on the distant western tip of Queens borough, New York, America.Queensbridge, the largest of twenty-six public housing developments in Queens and the whole of North America boasted a population of roughly seven thousand people; living in cramped conditions within ninety-six buildings spread out across North and South in two different complexes.Strains of Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy of Gold’s theme from the Western movie—The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly could be heard from about fifty yards out of one of the project houses in the housing complex. In the same apartment unit from which emerged, this melodic line also spread the unmistakable glorious aroma of home-brewed espresso.The man responsible for both; a trim-figured black man in sweats with a dark glossy crewcut and proud temple worked from the kitchen of his unit,
The Great Heist Chapter Six
The stress was becoming almost unbearable for Amman. This was evident on his face as he cannonballed in the wake of the Director with several other agents of the Qatar State Security down the narrow stretch of the hall that led into the dressing rooms. Even though he had been mentally trained and equipped for situations like this, he felt this was too much for anyone to handle, trained or otherwise. Not when he had barely seated or rested in the past hour. Nor have time to reflect. Not to talk of smoking to clear his head.Already, he had lost count of how many times he had been to this part, or anywhere at all in the stadium. Yet, here he was again. Walking down the whitewashed walls of this same hall, after being dragged down here by the insistent Director. He had sent two agents to fetch him while he was busy attending to other things that needed urgent attention like; seeing to it that the search and stop continued without a hitch, and also that security measures were still in
The Great Heist Chapter Eight
The lockdown took effect immediately throughout Lusail. And caused quite a stir and uproar in the proximal districts and municipalities that shared boundaries with Lusail in its first ten minutes:At the Umm Salal Al Muhammed municipality, a two-mile-long backup had formed along the expressway that connects Doha with Umm Salal Ali…Newlyweds traveling from the Al Dafna district of Doha through the West Bay Lagoon region to the Lusail Marina for their honeymoon were being hassled by policemen at the Lusail expressway…A procession of eighteen-wheelers transporting merchandise from Al Kharayej district was denied access into Lusail…Also, Terry stops began on all streets within the city limits of Lusail:A furious husband trying to transport his pregnant wife in time to the Le Royal Meridien fought a police officer over a delayed traffic stop...A dispatch rider on a BMW motorcycle was forced to a stop on the Wadi Al Wasah road… In the Marina district, a luxurious coach packed full of
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