He gained plenty of clout in sportscircles for having developed the likes of general manager Theo Epstein and other twenty- and thirty-something-year-old talent in the front office.
"It's like we were waiting for something like this to happen, " said Marc Batchelor, a South African soccer player who socialized with Pistorius in South Africa's glamor and sportscircles.
In sportscircles, Qatar lobbied vigorously in Asia and Africa, styling itself as a representative of the whole Arab world, bidding to bring the tournament to the Middle East for the first time.