Qatar is interested in hosting the World Snooker Championship when the Crucible’s deal to stage the event expires in 2027, according to Barry Hearn. Having hosted the football World Cup last year, there’s a chance the Middle-East country might welcome snooker’s blue-riband event in the future.
Hearn, the former chairman of World Snooker, always maintained the tournament would never leave Sheffield while he was in charge. The Crucible has been the venue since 1977 and is loved by snooker fans but its 980-seat capacity is restrictive.
Hearn hinted his son Eddie, who now runs Matchroom, might have a different vision for the sport as he sent out a message to the authorities in Sheffield. ‘Take the Crucible – the debate goes on,’ he told the Daily Telegraph. ‘980 seats. I am getting closer with Saudis on tournaments.
‘Qatar said to me last week, “What year does that World Snooker contract run out with Sheffield?” They asked me. ‘I said: “It’s 2027-28.” They replied: “Can we be in consideration? Can we have a say in it?”
‘They don’t have a snooker background. But it’s “if you want to do a nice big event, then we will put you in the mix.” ‘Who knows what is going to happen. I mean I have told them [Sheffield] what they got to do. I haven’t seen too much activity in that way.
‘We are part of the Sheffield development plan. But again I need a bit more juice on it. ‘I live in a world of people talking about things. In the world I like to operate in, it’s where people do things. They are in that process, I am not criticising them. Let’s hope it comes up.
‘We are in 2023. They have four to five years. But I don’t want it to be a decision made in four or five years. ‘I am a Sheffield fan, I want to stay here. But it might not be my decision. We’ll… it is not. I am the president non-executive.’ Hearn Snr said his son ‘isn’t a snooker fan’ but is ‘focused on global growth’.
Qatar was the controversial choice to host last year’s World Cup amid concerns over human rights and the treatment of migrant workers who built stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament. The country hopes to use their experience of hosting that tournament to bid for the Olympics in 2036. A joint-bid with neighbouring Saudi Arabia is also a possibility.
