A number of prominent Western universities, such as NYU, UMich, Georgetown and UCL have campuses in the Middle East. However, officials in Qatar are reporting that there has been a rise in the number of university applications, and early available data suggests it may be because of the marketing and publicity that was premised around the FIFA World Cup. Officials claim that the World Cup put Qatar on the map for people who had previously been unfamiliar with the country, its location, its facilities, or its expat-friendly infrastructure. Nonetheless, it may be a great opportunity for individuals seeking to obtain Western-format education while being a non-Western geographical setting, increasing accessibility to high quality higher education.