Small nation a big player in global sports

Leaders of Qatar seem to have a simple formula for their plans over the next decade: money + sports = global fame.

Never in sporting history has a country invested so massively, quickly, broadly, internationally and ostentatiously as the small oil-and-gas rich Gulf emirate that is using the world's thirst for energy and for sporting entertainment to realize its giant ambitions.

With a spending spree of staggering reach and proportions, the thumb of desert with a native population of just 282,750 - tied with Toledo, Ohio, for 66th among US cities - has used sports to make itself a household name in Europe.