NICOSIA, Cyprus - Around 80,000 fans were hoping to see Lionel Messi take on Lamine Yamal in Doha, Qatar, while thousands more were gearing up for the Formula One grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but the war in the Middle East had other plans.

The Gulf countries have invested vast sums of money in bringing global sporting events to their shores as they try to diversify their hydrocarbon-dependant economies and improve their images abroad.