[Archived] Doha here I come

[Mc Love]

Fair play to you BR!!!

All I could say is I hope they will listen to you and proceed with pushing Venkys out of the club!

[hi-jaq]

Fair play BR... I hope that you get somewhere with your visit & it has a real impact!!!

When do you go by the way???

[Puffsan]

My understanding is that its Qatar Petroleum if this is in correct I am happy to be corrected.

Cheers

BKR

faq from QIA website

When was the QIA established?

In 2005. It builds on the heritage of Qatari investments dating back more than 3 decades.

Who runs the QIA?

The QIA is chaired by H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Chief Executive is H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani. Other Board Members include H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Saud Al Thani, H.E. Yousef Hussain Kamal, Dr Hussain Al Abdulla and H.E Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Mohamed Al Thani. The Board of the QIA has extensive financial experience and exists to serve the government and people of Qatar by strengthening the Qatari economy.

think you should contact QIA.

But its hard to get anywhere in arab world without any contacts. dont know how you should do it, but you have to try to get in contact, build a relationship with someone who can put you in contact with the right people.

Remember to pay respect for their customs and culture. I will quote you some guidelines from my book about doing cross cultural business in the arab world:

Arab Verbal language: "arabs generally prefer not to say "no", bluntlym believing its more coureous to sy unpleasant things in a indirect way. Furthermore, "yes" may not actually mean yes unless said forcefully or repeated several times."

Arab nonverbal language: Space behavior: "like most middle easterners, arabs of the same sex like to stand closer to eachother thansome foreigners are accustomed to. try not to move away, since this would signal coldness or hostility to your local counterpart. on the other hand, men and women in the region maintain a respectfully wide interpersonal distance form eachother."

Touch Behavior: Coming from an expressive culture, arabs engage in frequant touching amon friends, but until they know someone well they usually confine physical touching to a gentle handshake"

Gaze behavior: "during a business or social discussion arab men EXPECT you to look them in the eye. If you frequently glance away it indicates lack of interest or worse, lack of respect."

Gestures: "visitors should avoid the thumbs-up sign, which is an obscene gesture in arab countries."

Body Language taboos: "As in other muslim cultures, the left hand is considered unclean. Always use your right hand when eating or when passing somethin to an Arab. Offer your business card or a gift woth your right hand, for example. and when seated, avoid showing the soles of your shoes or sandals; they are also unclean. Younger highly-educated Arabs sometimes scoff at such customs as old-fashioned. But you can be sure that most of these young people still follow these "outmoded" traditions when with their parents and older relatives."

"Arabs tend to look at time differently than people from monochronic cultures. People and relationships are more important than calenders and clocks. So your counterpart may keep you waiting while he deals with unscheduled visitors and family emergancies. He may be late for any number of pressing reasons."

"It is unwise to push hard for something to be done by a specific date. You will be better to build some flexibility into your schedule so that a delay of a few days or weeks will not cause you a serious problem. Patience is an important virtue in the gulf."

Dress code: "men wear a jacket and tie for business meetings. Good quality accessories such as your watch, pens and briefcase enhance status."

Remember to accept coffee or tea if offered. It is impolite not to accept.

"adress your counterpart by his title or honorific plus the first of his three names."

I hope some of these tips will help you to build a relationship with someone of importance. Relationships is everthing down there

[seanc88]

best of luck mate. just goes to show how much the club means to fans. shame we don't have owners who care half as much

[Steve Moss]

Why am I getting a Harold and Kumar vibe about this trip?

Seriously, BKR, travel safe and good luck.

[2PAC 4 Blackburn]

When are you off?

[AllRoverAsia]

Enough is Enough, something has to be done. I have booked myself a ticket to Doha. I will visit Qatar Petroleums HQ and try to talk to them

If I can't talk to them,I will hand them a letter with my thoughts. If you want me to pass on your thoughts please post here and I will print them out.

Cheers

BKR

Good luck. Have the ITKs given you any guidance on who to make contact with, that would be helpful.

Be prepared to be patient and very polite which I'm sure you are.

The Gulf Times is a well read English language newspaper in Qatar.

All the best.

[BangkokRover]

Still only got 6 PM plus the one post on this thread, would have thought that a lot more people where interested in getting their thoughts know to the possible new owners?

Cheers

BKR

[Billy Castell]

This is a mental idea, but I'm all for it. I'm not paying for it though! You never know, this may work. Now, is anyone here ex-military, and has a gun license? I'm sure we can club together for a ticket to Pune......... (a joke obviously)

P.S. If you ever get a meeting, I would lay it on thick how welcome they'd be, how cheap we will be to run, how fans do not demand Man City style signings, though that would be great and if they ever meet Jerome Anderson kick him in the balls.

[Billy Castell]

Send your begging letters to the QIA here.

And here is some e-mails to send begging letters to QP

Chinese Investment Corporation.

[BangkokRover]

This is a mental idea, but I'm all for it. I'm not paying for it though! You never know, this may work. Now, is anyone here ex-military, and has a gun license? I'm sure we can club together for a ticket to Pune......... (a joke obviously)

P.S. If you ever get a meeting, I would lay it on thick how welcome they'd be, how cheap we will be to run, how fans do not demand Man City style signings, though that would be great and if they ever meet Jerome Anderson kick him in the balls.

Billy please take the time to drop me a PM and I will happily pass it on to the correct people.

Thanks

BKR

[BangkokRover]

To keep up to date on this trip you can also follow me on Twitter @BKKRover

Cheers

BKR

[2PAC 4 Blackburn]

When are you off?

[BangkokRover]

Looks like the 24th of Nov just waiting for confirmation on the price and hotels etc

Cheers

BKR

[ABBEY]

Why am I getting a Harold and Kumar vibe about this trip?

Seriously, BKR, travel safe and good luck.

Max n paddy

[BangkokRover]

Thank you for all that information Puffsan

Thanks

BKR

[Ste B]

Looks like the 24th of Nov just waiting for confirmation on the price and hotels etc

Cheers

BKR

Dont get me wrong I admire what you are trying to do, but from what Kamy and Philip are saying these people will move on quickly. In 9 days time they could be knee deep in Everton.

[2PAC 4 Blackburn]

Dont get me wrong I admire what you are trying to do, but from what Kamy and Philip are saying these people will move on quickly. In 9 days time they could be knee deep in Everton.

I agree, I think if anything needs to be done it needs doing yesterday rather than in over a weeks time. Still, I admire your determination.

[BangkokRover]

Dont get me wrong I admire what you are trying to do, but from what Kamy and Philip are saying these people will move on quickly. In 9 days time they could be knee deep in Everton.

If someone wishes to Sponsor my flight I am ready to leave for the airport now. If not I have to get the best value for money I can.

Yes maybe they will have bought Everton or maybe not. I would rather try and show that we Rovers Fans care about out club and to show the Qatari's what normal Rovers fans are like.

Thanks

BKR

[Ralfinho]

If someone wishes to Sponsor my flight I am ready to leave for the airport now. If not I have to get the best value for money I can.

Yes maybe they will have bought Everton or maybe not. I would rather try and show that we Rovers Fans care about out club and to show the Qatari's what normal Rovers fans are like.

Thanks

BKR

Ask the WEC group in Darwen. They are pulling our of Rovers because of Venkys backing Kean. WEC Group

WEC Pulling Out

[T4E]

BKR - please don't do this mate. I admire you massively for being up for doing this, but every single shred of evidence points to this being a complete waste of time and money. It's close to Christmas, save your money for your family and friends, pleae don't waste it on this.

[BangkokRover]

I have now updated my blog explaining why I feel I have to go Doha and show QIA why we care.

BKR's Blog

Cheers

BKR

[DE.]

BKR - please don't do this mate. I admire you massively for being up for doing this, but every single shred of evidence points to this being a complete waste of time and money. It's close to Christmas, save your money for your family and friends, pleae don't waste it on this.

Agreed.... it's incredibly admirable that you're willing to go to these lengths, but it's ultimately going to be futile. I'd reconsider and save your money for somebody who actually needs it, whether that be your family, yourself or a different cause.

[dazmaz]

If you are determined to go, ensure you get a refundable/changeable ticket. Many airlines operate a non refundable and non changeable or restricted change, tickets (latter meaning a charge to change)

That way, if you do have to cancel for any reason you can get a refund, or change to a later date (for a holiday) Emirates, Qatar or Etihad are usually quite good for such tickets, just be sure to read the small print

Edit: I am also in the dont bother and save your money group

[K-Hod]

As much as you are a legend for doing this, I really hope your trip bears fruit, as I would hate for you to spend so much money on a wasted journey this close to Christmas!