KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The blockade of Qatar led by its largest neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has closed borders, complicated business and affected countless other facets of life in the Gulf since it was imposed last June.
Its has also affected the region’s most popular sport, soccer. Supply lines sustaining construction projects for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have been interrupted, and a regional championship tournament that was scheduled to take place in Qatar in December was moved to Kuwait because Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Bahrain had refused to participate in the original location.