Qatar World Cup Controversy

Written by: Everest Saric

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded on May 21, 1904, by several nations: Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The goal of the FIFA association was to “promote the game of Association Football, to foster friendly relations among National Associations, Confederations, and their officials and players, by promoting the organization of football matches at all levels, and to control every type of association football…”As the sport gained more popularity in the 20th century, soccer leaders in Europe felt that the sport needed a governing body. Under the leadership of Robert Geurin, a French journalist, seven founding members gathered in Paris to shape the future of the sport. Previous to FIFA taking over soccer, the World Cup was created as a tournament that was a part of the Summer Olympics.

As the sport became more professional in the 1920s, this tournament was taken over by FIFA on May 26, 1928. The first official World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. Since then it has been played every four years, with a single interruption due to WWII. Currently, Gianni Infantino serves as FIFA president since being elected in 2016. Recently, he has caused a great deal of controversy with the decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in the country of Qatar.

There have been many ethical dilemmas that have caused this decision to be controversial. The country has the highest infrastructure expenditure in FIFA’s history, with the Qatari government spending over $200 billion on the tournament. In the buildup to Qatar’s World Cup, thousands of migrant workers traveled to the country to take advantage of the job opportunities that would be created. In Qatar’s capital city of Doha, eight brand new stadiums, roading, accommodation for travelers, and other infrastructure needed to be built.

It has been reported that many of these migrant workers have been victims of labor rights abuse. They have been forced to live and work in poor conditions. Some workers reported being misled around the nature of their employment. For example, some workers went to Qatar for engineering jobs and found themselves forced into manual labor. Workers claim that they had their passports confiscated until their work was completed. Thousands of migrant workers have died in Qatar, but the exact number of deaths is yet to be determined.

Qatar is an Arab country that prohibits homosexuality by law. Officials of the tournament have been removing LGBTQIA+ symbols from fans entering the stadiums, such as rainbow flags or clothing that symbolize support. Germany’s team attempted to wear a “One Love” armband while playing, but were threatened with on-field disciplinary action through an immediate yellow card. When President Infantino was asked about why he had chosen to hold the World Cup in Qatar, he compared the country’s actions to Europe’s past. He claimed that just like Qatar, Europe had also been host to discrimination in the past. Rather than addressing the problem, he deflected and danced around the questions. Infantino left much unanswered and refused to explain his decision making. Some fans chose to not watch the games in protest for human rights: both labor and LGBTQIA+ rights. What do you think? Should the World Cup be held in Qatar?