Qatar hosting the AFC Asian Cup

 Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.

Fuelled by massive sums of Saudi cash, following huge investment from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, West Asia is now undoubtedly the dominant financial power in the game but it remains to be seen whether that transfers to pre-eminence on the pitch.