It is still more than four years to the next FIFA Men's World Cup. The 2022 final is scheduled for the Qatari capital Doha on December 18, later in the calendar year than ever before.

Qatar is one of the smallest states ever to stage one of sport's mega events but the journey really began when they staged the Asian Games a dozen years ago and, just like the World Cup, the event was scheduled for December.

At the time the director general of Doha 2006, Khalid Al Khatani, made no secret of his country's sporting ambition.

"It is a stepping stone to bigger things," he said. "We chose to bid for the Asian Games to put Qatar on the map. Personally I think the next step is the World Cup."

The race for the 2006 Asian Games had similarities to the World Cup campaign. The voting congress in the Korean City of Pusan was laden with celebrities, among them film star Jackie Chan, who was there to support his home city of Hong Kong. They joined Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Doha as bidding cities.

Kuala Lumpur were the favourites after a very successful 1998 Commonwealth Games. They were said to enjoy the support of Singapore and Brunei. Delhi dropped out after polling only two votes in the first ballot but in the second round Doha established a clear overall majority. The Straits Times, a leading newspaper in Malaysia and Singapore, described the result as "a complete shock".

Malaysia's Prince Tunku Imran was furious.

"Malaysia did not lose," he claimed. "In the end it was the Asian Games which lost. In this case, the merit and criteria went through the window." 

The recriminations bore more than a passing resemblance to those when Russia and Qatar had been confirmed as hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Doha 2006 Organising Committee secretary general Khalid Ali Al Thani hit back in the days after the vote.

"Some people think it is the offer of money, but it is not," he said. "It is the relations you have, the way you treat people when they come to you."

It was the first Asian Games to be held in the Middle East since Tehran 1974, a time when Qatar had been an independent state for only three years.

The Asian Games was an important part of Qatar's plan to become what they described as "a centre of excellence for the Middle East''. In 2002, they had launched a cycling road race, and Doha was soon on the tennis and athletics circuits.

Preparations began in the city with the construction of accommodation, facilities for the media and the "Sports City" complex, also known as the Aspire Zone which included impressive indoor facilities. This was later used for the World Indoor Athletics Championships. The imposing Khalifa Stadium was modernised as the centre piece of the Asian Games.

The event was styled as "Games of Your Life" and would not have disgraced an Olympics, let alone regional Games. Sure enough, as preparations intensified, Doha also announced a bid for the 2016 Olympics.

All visitors arrived at a specially built terminal at the airport. Each one was greeted on arrival with flowers presented by special hostesses in traditional dress. Among the guests were Syria's President Bashar Al Assad, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and FIFA's head Sepp Blatter.

The Opening Ceremony was masterminded by David Atkins, the artistic director for Sydney 2000 whose work there had been seen to great acclaim.

The curtain-raiser was more than three hours in duration and featured some 4,000 volunteers with many coming from local schools.

The central motif of the ceremony was a giant "astrolabe" used for navigation. Everything was seen through the eyes of "The Seeker", a small boy who became a man as the ceremony unfolded to tell the story of the Silk Road, the great trading route to Asia, and the "city of the future".

Qatar was presented as "a bold cutting edge nation, shaped by a rich culture and heritage dating back millennia".

Even the Torch Relay was something out of the ordinary. "The flame of hospitality" began in Qatar in October and embarked on a 50,000 kilometre journey. It flew to Delhi, venue of the first Asian Games in 1951, and then symbolically to 15 nations for the 15th Games.

The final lighting of the cauldron was accomplished in spectacular style as Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Thani, son of the Emir, appeared on his horse Malibu. They galloped up a slope to ignite the cauldron which was 50 metres high. Some felt it was unnecessarily risky as the horse appeared to lose its footing on the ascent. To the relief of all, horse and rider did safely reach the summit and the flame could later be seen burning from the giant Sports City Tower, visible across the city.

It was a sensational display, but significantly perhaps, ceremony organisers flatly refused to divulge how much it had all cost and there were some who saw it as symbolic of an unnecessarily opulent Games.

It had rained heavily on the day of the ceremony, causing a hasty rethink of some plans.

Although the sun returned during the week, it was never blisteringly hot and conditions for spectators and competitors were generally comfortable. 

Almost half of the sports on the programme were conducted outside. These included team sports such as football, hockey, softball, baseball and beach volleyball. There was also rugby sevens which featured one of the grandstand finishes of the entire tournament as Japan patiently kept the ball alive when the clock turned red, before Akihito Yamada scored a dramatic try to beat South Korea in the final.

Although tickets were enthusiastically promoted, crowds were disappointing and at most of the venues officials and athletes outnumbered spectators.

Even when the host nation's footballers played their opening match against Jordan, the magnificent Al Sadd Stadium was by no means full. Matters did improve by the time the team fought their way to the final. Qatar beat Iraq with a single goal to claim gold, and according to organisers the stadium "erupted into frenzied celebrations". Afterwards, the streets were full of vehicles hooting their horns in celebration of the victory.

It was the perfect end to the Games as the "tales of 1001 Arabian nights" illuminated the Closing Ceremony. Chinese Olympic official Liu Peng described Doha 2006 as "miracle Games which not only make Qatar but the whole of Asia proud".

Doha's aspirations for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics came to nothing but in 2009, Qatar tabled their intention to bid for the 2022 World Cup. They'd had some dealings with FIFA before when they hosted the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship at very short notice after a meningitis outbreak prevented its staging in Nigeria.

The FIFA President at that time, Joao Havelange, called it "a spirit which emphasised that country's love of our sport and its ambition to play a central role in the game's development". It was a gesture which would not be forgotten. 

When the 2022 bid was unveiled, it included an ambitious programme which promised new stadia throughout the country but most still expected the tournament to be held in June and July. FIFA's Evaluation Committee, led by Chilean Harold Mayne-Nicholls, warned that this "has to be considered as a potential health risk for players, officials, the FIFA family and spectators and requires precautions to be taken".

The Committee did describe the overall package as "a novel approach to event operations and legacy, in line with Qatar's national development strategy".

Qatar's Bidding Committee even made "special reference to the legislation enacted with regard to the 2006 Asian Games" - an acknowledgement of the importance of that event.

In December 2010, the FIFA Executive Committee finally chose Qatar in the fourth round of voting. They had seen off Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Accusations of bribery and malpractice followed and led to widespread arrests and expulsions. Many of those who made the original decision have been ostracised with life bans from world football, including Sheikh Mohamed Bin Hammam. The criticism of the way the vote was run has not ceased and there has also been international condemnation of the treatment of foreign construction workers.

No final decision has been taken on whether 32 or 48 teams will participate in the tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed the majority of the tournament would take place in December, just as the path-finding Asian Games had done in 2006.

At that time, with more than 9,500 athletes from 45 countries, it was the biggest international sports event ever staged in Qatar or indeed the entire region.

"This is just the beginning," said sports officials in the country. One of those, Kahlil Al Jabeer, insisted the fortnight had offered Qatari officials "great event management experience, delivered a good message to the people and put Qatar firmly on the world map as a centre of sports excellence".

Over the next four years they will stage the World Athletics Championships and the FIFA World Cup and must prove the lessons of a dozen years ago have been well learned.