Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management

First Advisor

Stephen Shapiro

Abstract

This dissertation examined the legacy of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup on domestic soccer consumption in Qatar, with emphasis on long-term cognitive and behavioral outcomes two years post-event. Although sport mega-events (SMEs) are often justified by projected economic and infrastructural benefits, less empirical attention has been devoted to their enduring influence on domestic sport consumption, particularly in small host nations. This study investigated whether engagement with the World Cup, operationalized as attendance, media viewership, event-related spending, and participation in pre-game activities predicted subsequent attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC toward consuming soccer at local, regional, and global levels. The moderating roles of sport identification and national identity were also examined.

Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, SIT, and Preuss’ Event Legacy Framework, the study proposed an integrated model linking mega-event engagement to post-event consumption cognitions. A quantitative design was employed using an online survey administered to Qatari citizens who engaged with the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Established scales measured World Cup engagement, identity constructs, and post-event consumption orientations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability assessment, multiple regression, and moderation procedures.

Results indicated that direct effects of World Cup attendance, viewership, and spending on domestic and regional league cognitions were generally weak and inconsistent. In contrast, experiential engagement through pre-game activities and media consumption demonstrated more consistent positive associations with post-event attitudes, norms, and perceived control. Effects were most coherent at the global level, suggesting that mega-event engagement aligned more readily with established international leagues than with domestic competitions. Sport identification emerged as a strong direct predictor across consumption cognitions, whereas national identity demonstrated selective moderating effects.

Overall, findings suggest that the legacy of hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is reflected more clearly in cognitive and perceptual shifts than in uniform behavioral expansion across leagues, highlighting the complexity of translating mega- event exposure into sustained domestic sport engagement.

Rights

© 2026, Saad Alshamari

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