World Cup Controversy

In 2014 ESPN analyst Ian Darke described the FIFA World Cup as “The month-long festival of football,” or soccer for Americans. However, as the 2022 edition of the tournament is only a week out, the focus is not on the games on the field. It’s not about the United States returning after eight years. It’s not even about this being the last chance for legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win a world cup. Instead, the tournament’s focus is the controversy surrounding every single aspect of what will transpire starting next week. The debate is related to one word: Qatar.

In 2010 Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, beating out bids from The United States, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. However, doubts surrounded the Qatari bid as allegations of bribery surfaced involving then FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Major organizations screamed about corruption, and Qatari and FIFA officials quickly denied the claims and covered them up. However, it soon was found that many FIFA officials were indeed paid to vote for Qatar. As a result, many senior officials, including Sepp Blatter and his vice president Michel Platini, were banned from all soccer activities and later endited on fraud charges by US prosecutors. The tournament will still go forward as planned, but concerns about Qatar’s climate, size, and laws have begun to arise. 

During the summer, the temperature in Qatar averages around 95-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to the intense heat, the Tournament is being held in the winter months for the first time in its history. Temperatures still can climb into the high eighties, however. FIFA has stated that there will be air conditioning in the stadiums. Still, during a trial game early in September, the air conditioning system reportedly failed in Lusail Stadium, where the final will be played. This was one of many problems with the stadium, including long lines, lack of Water, and even reports of the exits being blocked to fans trying to leave the stadium. 

The tournament taking place in the winter also presents a second issue. For most leagues worldwide, the season lasts from late August to early May, with other cup competitions wrapping up even into June. Many leagues started one to two weeks early and required players to cut their summer rest break short. Alessio Cracolici, team manager of Parma Calcio, stated, “It is a historic first time that the balance of a season has changed. Starting from its inception: this year, it was played starting in early August, when it is usually played at the end of the month. In this way, I also believe that there will be big surprises in some of the major European leagues and cups. Many teams, normally, with fewer quality players, could win.” The club season usually has several small international breaks that last a week and are not taxing on players who play for their nations. Leagues will now have to take a month-long break from their seasons. Cracolici stated, “ The world cup, in the winter, divides the championship into two sides: in this way, in the middle of the season, we will have to prepare for a new championship.” The English Premier League will pause from November 13th to December 26th, which would only give players a week to get to and from Qatar before and after the games start and conclude. 

 The World Cup will also add a max of 7 additional games if a player were to make the final. This has raised the issue of player safety to many clubs across Europe.” Cracolici explained, “Teams will have to make a lighter preparation in the first part of the season because they will have the added physical and psychological stress of the World Cup.” However, many players across Europe have suffered injuries in the weeks leading up to the tournament as Leagues attempt to cram in games. Star players such as Senegal’s Sadio Mane or Germany’s Timo Werner will miss the tournament, having suffered injuries in a recent matchday. 

The nation’s size has also raised many questions about the country’s ability to host. Qatar is a nation of 3 Million people and is only 4,473 square miles, roughly the size of New Jersey. Most of the landmass in the country is a Desert meaning all of the stadiums are within, at most, 34 miles of each other. Driving to all the stadiums would only take 2.5 hours. Every single stadium is located within the Captial City of Doha. For comparison, in 2018, Moscow hosted 12 games across two stadiums. Doha will be hosting all 64 matches. World Cup CEO Nassar al Khatar stated that there would be “no concerns over a shortfall of accommodation.” With up to 130,000 rooms available for the 1.2 Million expected visitors across hotels, desert camps, apartments, and the two cruise ships parked in Doha.

The final and most significant issue is Qatar’s laws. Qatar is an Arab nation, and many of the country’s laws are based on Muslim Sharia Law. Sharia law outlaws things seen as immoral, such as Alcohol. This means that stadiums will serve no alcohol. However, Qatari officials have stated that the alcohol will be available at fan zones and select hotels and restaurants. 

The more prominent issue people have with the laws is those surrounding homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are not recognized by the state and are prohibited. Penalties can include one to three years in prison for male homosexuality and possibly the death penalty for Muslims. However, there are no reports of the death penalty having been enforced. These laws have raised concern for members of the LGBT community who will be traveling to Qatar. In 2013 the head of Qatar’s World cup bid committee stated that everyone would be welcome in Qatar as long as they refrained from public displays of affection, “Public display of affection is not part of our culture and tradition.” 

Campaigning for LGBT rights is also prohibited, including displays of the pride flag similar to those at last year’s European championships. In December 2020, Qatari officials said they would not restrict pro-LGBT imagery following FIFA’s inclusion policy. However, in April 2022, a senior security official overseeing the tournament went back on that statement and said that pride flags would be taken by security.

The final issue has mainly stayed out of the light of the media. When FIFA announced the 2022 World Cup, construction began on all but one of the stadiums that would be used during the games. Qatar relied heavily on migrant labor in the kafala system to complete these stadiums. In the kafala system, immigrants pay sponsors to get them to the country and find them a job. Often these immigrants had very little at home and were left to provide for their families. Sponsors would lure these workers in with promises of good wages, working, and living conditions. Often the reality would be much harsher.

 In 2015 a media company called Journeyman Pictures traveled to Qatar to capture footage of laborers’ working conditions. What they found was appalling; they found small cramped living spaces filled with filth and disease. They then interviewed an anonymous worker. His name, face, and voice were censored for his safety. Nevertheless, he explained how his employer had taken his passport upon his arrival and how he had received a contract with far fewer wages than he had been promised.

 Amnesty International found similar conditions when they went to the Khalifa stadium and the aspire work zone. They interviewed several workers in the aspire zone; one stated, “My manager just said, ‘I don’t care what they said in Bangladesh. We are giving you this salary and nothing more. If you keep talking like this, I’ll tell them to cancel your visa and send you back.” Amnesty also talked to several workers whose salary has been delayed; one such of these workers, Prim from Nepal, stated, “My family is now homeless, and two of my younger children have been taken out of school… Every day I am in tension, I cannot sleep at night. This is torture for me.” Amnesty continued to report that employers forced labor and workers couldn’t leave their work area. 

Thousands of deaths have also occurred due to the construction of stadiums. In 2021The Guardian reported that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died since construction began. However, this only accounts for work-related deaths reported by embassies in Qatar. Qatari officials have not reported deaths related to heat stroke and poor living and working decisions. Deaths from many other nations have also not been registered. 

However, even with thousands of worker’s rights violations, poor infrastructure and inadequate conditions, Qatar will still host in a week. Millions of people will tune in on tv or travel to Qatar to see what should be great action on the field. But as that goes on, they must not forget what is happening off of it and the thousands of lives lost during the tournament preparation.