December 16th, 2022

Introduction:

Every year, the FIFA World Cup makes headlines, with fans from all over the world rooting for their favorite teams to compete in the most prestigious level of soccer there is. It is traditionally a time of pride, passion and elated energy, full of excitement and celebration. However this year, there seems to be a detectable sour undertone from people and organizations pertaining to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and it all stems from the event’s host country.

 

Anti-LGBTQ+ laws and ideologies:

Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to have ever hosted the FIFA World Cup, however, the world seems to be caught up in the question of whether this ought to be so. This is for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, Qatar is a country with a horrible record for the preservation of our most basic human rights by inflicting unjust laws. For instance, we can observe the country’s treatment towards the LGBTQ+ community. Not only is same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ activity illegal, it can also be punishable by jail time or even death. There have even been reports of complusory conversion therapy implicated by the government on transgender Qatari women. All this behavior is recognized and openly accepted by Qatar’s top government officials, even to the extent of their leader, or Emir, Sheikh Tamim. In a press conference earlier in the year, he stated that Qatar was open to hosting gay guests at the 2022 World Cup, but that they should also “respect our culture”, translating to the fact that they are expected to simply accept the oppressive values of Qatari law.

 

Mistreatment of migrant workers:

Secondly, the framework of this year’s World Cup was manufactured through Qatar’s systematically exploited migrant workers. This controversy was shed in a new light when in 2021, The Guardian revealed that around 6,500 migrant workers from a multitude of countries, such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had died since 2010. This began in the spike of construction in preparation for the World Cup, which Qatar was announced to be hosting in early December of that year. The country has spent around $220 billion in the anticipation of this global event, which included the construction of 7 brand-new stadiums, hotel accommodations, roads, and even an airport. All of these shiny new toys were crafted through the dark entailments of being one of Qatar’s 2 million migrant workers, who consist of 94% of its labor workforce. Through shady contracts, these unaware workers are lured and trapped legally into a deceitful system, where they endure all kinds of hardships, such as sexual and physical abuse. The desperation of these circumstances is shown in the story of Ghal Singh Rai, a Nepali worker assigned as a cleaner for the Education City Stadium. He had paid $1000 in recruitment fees to even land his job, and committed suicide within a week of working it. It appears that even in death, these migrant workers are unable to scrape fragments of dignity from the government of Qatar, as their families fail to receive proper compensation, and the majority of their deaths are listed under vague categories, with 80% of deaths categorized as “natural causes”. 

 

Bribery:

Thirdly, the means of Qatar even landing the opportunity to host these prestigious games seem to be riddled with fraud and corruption. It stuck out that FIFA chose a country that had little to none soccer foundations or experience to host the 2022 World Cup, and in contrast to other countries looking for the position, such as the United States, they had even less. Along with other complications, such as the weather’s extreme heat, it looked like an impractical and unreasonable choice. Eventually, 4 years later, The Sunday Times published an article detailing leaked documents which contained evidence that a Qatar soccer official had been conspiring with an ex-executive of FIFA, in order to roll out millions of dollars worth of bribe money to FIFA members. This ex-member of FIFA was Mohammed bin Hammam, who was forced to leave and banned from FIFA for life because of corruption charges. So why would a small, desert country pay millions of dollars in hopes of winning this bid, only to then have to pay billions of dollars to host this event? Well, some people relate this to the term “sportwashing”. As defined by Collins Dictionary, sportwashing is “the practice of a controversial company or country using sports sponsorship to improve its reputation”. From this, it is possible to conclude that perhaps Qatar aspires to gain a more favorable place in the public’s heart and improve its deteriorating image through the connection of entertainment the FIFA World Cup brings.

 

Concluding thoughts:

This instance is just the latest example in a much bigger, broader question. To what extent is it realistic to persist in ethical means? Is it acceptable to ignore “doing the right thing” for greater prospects or sacrifice? Can we even rely on what are supposed to be noble, fair hierarchies to turn down enticing options even if they are immoral? As the uninvolved, everyday human I exist as, I have strong sentiments disagreeing with FIFA’s handling and choice of host for this year’s World Cup. Qatar’s human rights violations and oily methods to secure their bid appall and disgust me, and I do believe what they did was wrong. And while I would love for this situation to have been handled in the ideal way, that is simply not realistic. Personally, I did not expect FIFA to be as righteous in their choices as many others held them up to act. FIFA, just like many of us, is a servant of money and power. Except, unlike us typical folk, they have something people want. Fame. Recognition. Respect. And when people want something from you, they will sedate you and control you with your respective greeds. By injecting huge amounts of cash into FIFA’s pockets, Qatar has chained the organization, cornering them into making decisions that many of us consider crude and dishonorable. In the face of these wants, and in the face of this fear, even the most prestigious of superpowers can crumble to be puppets of their desires. 

 

By Arielle Chung

Categories: Editorials