Qatar’s successful bid to hold the 2022 FIFA World Cup was controversial from the moment of its announcement in December 2010. But after The Sunday Times published apparent evidence of corruption in the bidding process, there is now a  chance that Qatar may actually lose the tournament, or at least have to go through a re-vote. If that happens, what does that mean for Qatar’s economy, and for investors?

Not as much as you might think. The damage is likely to be more reputational than economic in what is, after all, the world’s richest state based on per capita wealth.

Firstly, yes, the planned spend on infrastructure development is enormous, and its loss would clearly have an impact on construction firms, banks and the broader economy. Initial projections put the spending on stadia alone at between $4 and $5 billion, and that’s really just the start of it: as part of the same plan, 90,000 hotel rooms would be required and the infrastructure to support 400,000 fans. That, in turn, requires a new multi-billion dollar local and national train system, among other things.