Qatari Controversy
The biggest sporting event in the world happens once every four years. The billions of global viewers, the billions of dollars in sponsorships and advertisements, and the immense value it carries to the world attest to its significance. Hosting the World Cup is an immense privilege, but also a massive undertaking. It is an honor – an opportunity to show one’s nation to the world, often boosting the image of the nation. However, this year’s World Cup, hosted by the gulf nation Qatar, is arguably more controversial than any before it. This controversy, rooted in Qatar’s human rights record, has ignited fierce debate on FIFA’s choice of Qatar as host 12 years ago. In today’s world, the line that divides sports and politics has faded. The days of “shut up and dribble” are over, and rightfully so.
What made FIFA’s decision so bizarre is that Qatar does not have a rich history in soccer. Unlike its neighbors Iran and Saudi Arabia, Qatar has never even qualified for a World Cup. As such, prior to the World Cup, Qatar lacked serious soccer infrastructure. The petrol state, which, prior to the discovery of oil and gas reserves in 1939 and 1960, was a sparsely populated region. Qatar is now one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Since being given the right to host the 2022 tournament 12 years ago, the Qatari government has poured billions into building critical infrastructure, from all of the stadiums used in the World Cup to a brand new metro system in the capital city of Doha. To accomplish this, the government has used migrant labor from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. According to Axios, “85% of Qatar’s population of 3 million are foreign workers.” The conditions that these workers endured for the World Cup were beyond inhumane. Working conditions were extremely unsafe, as workers were forced to work in dangerous heat during the Qatari summer, all while workers were being barely paid and abused. In fact, the brutal heat is the main reason why the World Cup is being held during the winter months instead of the traditional June and July months. The result of these labor abuses has been catastrophic. According to reports from the Guardian, 6,500 migrant workers have died building the infrastructure for the World Cup in Qatar, and that is a conservative estimate.
These worker abuses display Qatar’s notoriously atrocious human rights record. Homosexuality in the country is outlawed, and in some instances, carries the death penalty. Religious freedom is non-existent, as exemplified by the nation’s announcement of a ban on public Jewish prayer just a week ago. For press freedom, Qatar ranks 119 out of 180 countries. With this human rights record and numerous other laws that significantly violate international standards of human rights, how can Qatar be in the position to host a global tournament, with the responsibility to welcome an international population?
One of the most controversial aspects of this World Cup involves Qatar’s initial awarding of the tournament by FIFA in 2010. The decision to give Qatar the rights to host the 2022 World Cup have been marred by credible allegations of bribery. As reported by Axios, so damaging were these allegations that since 2010, “18 members of FIFA’s 24-person executive committee have since been implicated in or investigated for illicit activity,” irrevocably damaging FIFA’s credibility. In other words, Qatar was awarded the rights to host the World Cup through corruption.
The decision to have this year’s World Cup during the winter months has proved disastrous for FIFA as well. Eschewing tradition, FIFA has placed the World Cup directly in the middle of the regular soccer season. This has put an unhealthy workload on the players, resulting in significant injuries to the world’s top players. Both players who were ranked top two in this year’s Ballon d’Or (an award given by France Football that recognizes the best soccer players in the world), France’s Karim Benzema and Senegal’s Sadio Mané, are out injured for the tournament.
At what cost are we willing to turn a blind eye to Qatar hosting this World Cup? If 6,500 dead migrant workers, the death penalty on homosexuality, allegations of bribery, and an injury-prone schedule are not enough, then I do not know what is. I am all for expanding football’s global reach and having a World Cup in a non-western country. Plenty of African countries from Egypt to Ghana have a rich soccer history and the infrastructure to support the tournament. Qatar makes zero sense as a host nation. I hope, for the sake of soccer, that the tournament is successful. But as much as the Qatari government wishes, the controversy that has indelibly stained this World Cup is not going away any time soon.