By Aidan Ma

The world’s supposedly brightest stage for football, was filled with controversy, criticism, and concerns, even before the first tournament ball was even kicked. In fact, it should not even have happened in Qatar at all.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar officially kicked off on Sunday, the 20th of November, and is now in full swing. However, this does not mean that we should ignore or forget about the allegations and controversies that have revolved around this World Cup since the former president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, announced Qatar as the host in 2010. Is Qatar that bad of a choice? Well, if you take into account all the human rights violations, deaths, and alleged bribery, it definitely is. Even Sepp Blatter told a Swiss newspaper, Tages-Anzeiger, "Qatar is a mistake,” and "the choice was bad." And I am here to tell you why…

The state-of-the-art Qatar World Cup Stadiums are the result of 'modern-day slavery’. Migrant workers have had to endure appalling living conditions and delayed salaries, which often do not add up to the promised amount. According to an interview done by Amnesty International, an international NGO for human rights, a Nepalese metal worker at the Khalifa Stadium said, “My family is now homeless, and two of my younger children have been taken out of school.” Imagine working over fourteen hours a day in a foreign country for the sake of your family and not being fairly compensated. How would you feel?

While some survived the physical and mental torture, many others did not. An investigation led by the Guardian in 2013 uncovered that dozens of Nepalese migrant laborers have died in Qatar. However, this situation has only worsened. Between now and 2010, more than 6,500 migrant workers from countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have died from unknown or unrecorded causes. The Qatari government spent over $200 billion on the World Cup and is projected to make over $17 billion. Yet, they cannot afford to pay the salaries of the $1.7 million migrant workers on time. Why would FIFA support a government that uses human suffering as a money-making tool?

Such humanitarian issues are not only limited to Qatar alone. As mentioned by RCHK Head of the PHE Department, Lee Burns, “There is a strong argument that such situations occur closer to home” with regard to the rights of domestic helpers in Hong Kong. For an event like the FIFA World Cup, you would expect the host country or FIFA to intervene and stop the inhumane treatment of migrant workers. Many problems were expected and discovered so early on. Why did FIFA still award Qatar the World Cup in 2010? Why didn’t FIFA intervene when the human rights allegations were made? 

Throwback to 2010, when Qatar was awarded the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world was in shock. Qatar was clearly unable to accommodate such an enormous event given that they do not have existing football stadiums large enough for the World Cup nor the amenities to host the expected 1.7 million visitors. Also, the temperature of Qatar is deemed unsuitable for sporting events as it can reach temperatures as high as 45°C between June and July, when the World Cup is normally held. This only points to one reason: bribery of the FIFA officials. As Year 11 RCHK student and midfielder of the U16 South China AA football team Sage Kwok says: “Selection of Qatar as being host nation is corrupt and unfair.” This has been proven by the years of investigation conducted by the United States Department of Justice. They concluded in 2020 that five members of FIFA’s top board received an unrevealed amount of money from  representatives working for Qatar before the voting occurred in 2010. This allowed Qatar to secure the hosting right of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

To cause further controversy, the FIFA World Cup was confirmed in 2015 to be held between November and December. This decision was made to compensate for the immense heat of Qatar in June and July. As mentioned by Mr. Burns, this is “not in keeping with tradition and the ethos of the football World Cup.” The purpose of the World Cup is for the players to come together and showcase skills, sportsmanship, and hard work to the football world. However, with the World Cup being in the middle of a normal club football season, it results in significant drawbacks such as the “fatigue and condition of players,” as Kwok says. Currently, superstars such as Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, and Paul Pogba are forced to be sidelined due to injuries just prior to the World Cup. This could have been avoided if the World Cup was in the summer, as it should have been.

With the FIFA World Cup being the pinnacle of international football, such issues should have never occurred. It is up to FIFA to reassign its board of directors, to amend host selection criteria, and to intervene when host countries fail to uphold basic moral responsibilities. As for all of us football fans, we should utilize this worldwide spectacle as an opportunity to fight for human rights around the world. Wake up! Speak up! Stand up! For those who have suffered for your entertainment.

References

ESPN. (2022, November 8). 'Qatar World Cup is a mistake' - former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. ESPN. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4795763/qatar-world-cup-is-a-mistake-former-fifa-president-sepp-blatter

In defence of Qatar's hosting of the World Cup. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/in-defence-of-qatars-hosting-of-the-world-cup

Migrants building a state-of-the-art stadium for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar are abused and exploited – while FIFA makes huge profits. (n.d.). Amnesty International. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/03/qatar-world-cup-of-shame/

No 'Dignity and Pride' in World Cup Labor Abuses. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/03/no-dignity-and-pride-world-cup-labor-abuses

Qatar/FIFA: Address Demands of Migrant Worker Strikes. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/12/qatar/fifa-address-demands-migrant-worker-strikes

Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'. (2013). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves

Sepp Blatter says choosing Qatar to host World Cup was 'a mistake'. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/08/sepp-blatter-qatar-hosting-world-cup-mistake

The Shockingly Awful Living Conditions Of Construction Workers In Qatar Before The 2022 World Cup. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/qatar-world-cup-worker-conditions-2014-6

Stadiums of shame: the numbers World Cup hosts Qatar don't want to be seen. (2022). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/14/stadiums-of-shame-the-numbers-world-cup-hosts-qatar-dont-want-to-be-seen

U.S. Says FIFA Officials Were Bribed to Award World Cups to Russia and Qatar (Published 2020). (2020). Retrieved 27 November 2022, from