Bojan Mustur is an expat from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who’s been living and working in Doha since 2017. Recently, at the Faculty of Sports in Belgrade (Serbia) as a crown of his studies of Management in Sports, he defended a master thesis: Managing the Organisation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM. This is his second master’s. He obtained the first one in 2012 at the Arts Academy in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), on the subject of Digital scenography for theater, film and television.

I am generally very satisfied with the thesis, since it was a result of years-long research, precisely since 2017 when I first came to Qatar. As per my current knowledge, I am the first person in the world who did a master thesis on this subject. I think this is an outstanding success. Also, it is important for Qatar as a country that is organising the first FIFA World CupTM played in the Middle East and the Arab world.

The work contains around 100 pages, highlighting the historical facts about Qatar as a country, the development of football in general as well as the national team, then the FIFA World Cup TM stadiums and infrastructure, etc. I want to emphasize the fact that I am a complete author, including design, photography, and text.

I am using this opportunity to say thank you to a great football coach, participant of five consecutive FIFA World CupsTM (with five different national teams), and a fantastic person, Bora Milutinovic, who has been living and working in Doha for more than ten years. He helped me a lot with my research.

Also, thank you to everyone from the QNB Qatar Stars League, Qatar Football Association, and Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy-SC, who provided all the relevant information about the history and development of Qatari football.

During the last year, Bojan Mustur worked in parallel on his master’s studies and on  Professional Diploma Programme in Major Events Management at the Josoor Institute in Doha. This Diploma Programme is done in collaboration with SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milano, as well as the body organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in Doha. Mustur plans to continue with his education in the near future.

During the studies, the two programmes complemented each other. I think this was a good decision and a fantastic bond. On the other hand, it required a lot of effort and personal sacrifice.

My wish is to start my Ph.D. studies soon. I would like to develop this subject further. About the world cup and Qatar, there’s a lot more to be said, especially after the tournament itself. I am extremely happy that I was a witness of great progress in Qatar, and the way football and sports in general develop. Being in Qatar during the biggest sports event in the history of the country and the whole region is such a blessing.

My only daughter, Una, was born in Qatar. My family and I would love to stay and continue living in this wonderful country, who offered us great opportunities already. I hope we will stay at least until the 2030 Asian Games. I believe it will be a majestic sports event. Qatar undoubtedly deserves it.