Delivered by Ingenta IP: 185.122.252.42 On: Fri, 02 Aug 2024 12:09:10 Article(s) and/or figure(s) cannot be used for resale. Please use proper citation format when citing this article including the DOI, publisher reference, volume number and page location. Event Management, Vol. 28, pp. 895–913 1525-9951/24 $60.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3727/152599524X17135753220093 Copyright © 2024 Cognizant, LLC. E-ISSN 1943-4308 www.cognizantcommunication.com 895 Address correspondence to Ehsan Mohamadi Turkmani, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, N Kargar, P9HR+J6X. Iran. E-mail: ehsan.mohamadi@ut.ac.ir committees began explicitly mentioning legacy (Dorsch et al., 2021). Event legacies and event impacts are two similar words in mega-sporting event literature. Although the two concepts are similar, “impact” and “legacy” have distinct meanings. An external shock, such as the spending of event attendees, provides a tempo- rary boost to the economy, which in turn prompts the event’s impacts (Preuss, 2007). For example, the Introduction Major or large-scale sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup, have remarkable impacts, scope, magnitude, and significance on a global scale (Andersson et al., 2021). Although researchers have studied the impacts of mega-sporting events for decades, it was not until the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta that organizing INDIRECT LEGACY AND OUTCOMES OF MEGA-SPORTING EVENTS: THE CASE OF THE QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP EHSAN MOHAMADI TURKMANI,* NADIM NASSIF,† AND MAYA GABRIEL† *Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran †Department of Psychology, Education and Physical Education, Faculty of Humanities, Notre-Dame University-Louaize (NDU), Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon Scholars have extensively studied mega-sporting events’ impact and legacies. However, these studies typically focus on the host city or country. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the first mega-sporting event in the Gulf region, evoked a deeper reflection on the legacy of such events. After conducting 21 in-depth interviews with participants from nine Arab nations and utilizing constructivist grounded theory, new perceptions of mega-event legacy emerged. Arab pride, tangible outcomes, an acces- sible success model, a technical legacy, making sports a key part of Arab social life, boosting social capital, and a hazy sense of sorrow represented the indirect outcomes of the Qatar 2022 World Cup for Arab countries. The similarities between Qatar and its neighbors have shaped indirect percep- tions. Although the perceived outcomes were favorable, some Arab citizens may have experienced conflicting feelings of sorrow. The findings shed light on the legacy of mega-sporting events beyond the host nation. Key words: Arab pride; Indirect perceptions; Large-scale sports events; MENA region