Qatar’s ‘majlis’ gamers target esports big leagues

Esport athletes compete during Virtuocity Smash Open 2022 at the Doha Festival City in the Qatari capital on March 17, 2022. — AFP

DOHA: World Cup host Qatar doesn’t just have its sights set on football – it also hopes to harness its people’s gaming skills as it launches into the burgeoning esports sector.

A digital army is at the ready in the gas-rich emirate, where many “majlis” rooms – communal gathering places attached to homes – have long doubled as video game hubs for groups of friends, mostly young men.