Beyond the Trophy

Uncovering the ethical concerns of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

World Cup trophy on soccer field. Source: Rhett Lewis, Unsplash

I am sure you’ve heard your fair share of controversies surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Leaders in professional soccer soliciting bribes and kickbacks have almost become an expectation behind closed doors. However, what was enshrouded in secrecy is now bleeding at the forefront of public scrutiny.

The basics
For those of us unfamiliar with this prestigious international competition, here’s a quick 101.

• The World Cup started in 1930 and is hosted every 4 years by a different country. It usually takes place from June to July, during the optimal period between club league seasons. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is the international governing body that manages the World Cup today.
• Every cycle, countries around the world bid for selection as the host country, as early as 7 years prior to the event. After a thorough assessment, the country that earns the majority of votes from FIFA’s member associations wins the bid.
• The host nation shoulders an enormous responsibility to provide for the athletes and spectators. Notwithstanding the steep costs pumped into infrastructure, the ensuing economic rewards from tourism, local job creation, and foreign investments, are tremendous. Experts estimate that the World Cup could generate $17 billion towards Qatar’s economy (Bloomberg, Football World Cup to Add Up to $17 Billion to Qatari Economy).
• Throughout history, the top five contenders for the trophy have been Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, and France. Prior to this year, the Qatar men’s team has never qualified for the World Cup. As hosts, they are exempt from the qualifying rounds.
• In Qatar, more than 2 million people, or 95% of its total labor force, are migrant workers (Human Rights Watch, 2020 Report).

Problems arising
More than a decade before this year’s World Cup, consequences of long-term problems surfaced, and questions started brewing. In no particular order, I’ll attempt to summarize the troubling facts that arose in the realm of professional soccer.

1. Sepp Blatter rose to power as the president of FIFA in 1998, with many claiming his succession as unscrupulous, riddled with rumors of bribery. For the next 17 years until his resignation, Blatter would face numerous accusations of financial mismanagement and corruption (The New York Times, The Rise and Fall of Sepp Blatter). Blatter is among a string of other FIFA officials who have been indicted for racketeering, bribery, fraud, and various other crimes (Brittanica, 2015 FIFA corruption scandal).
2. Based on a Guardian analysis in 2021, more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar during the 10-year period leading up to the World Cup. This number may be higher, as it excludes workers from other countries like the Philippines, whose labor force also contributed to the World Cup. Human rights organizations have called on Qatar to compensate hundreds of thousands of workers who have been duped of fair wages or bullied into paying exorbitant recruitment fees (Human Rights Watch, FIFA: Pay for Harm to Qatar’s Migrant Workers) as part of its ‘kafala system,’ or Qatar’s employee sponsorship scheme.
3. Players, coaches, broadcasters, leagues, and many others are facing unprecedented workload pressure from the overlapping fixtures of the European leagues and the World Cup. Due to the unbearable humidity in Qatar, the World Cup — usually hosted in the summer — was shifted to November this year. As a result, players are left with fewer preparation and recovery days, exacerbated by back-to-back matches (NPR, Why Qatar is a controversial host for the World Cup).

What’s in it for Qatar
The decision to host the World Cup at Qatar, and even at Russia in 2018, is muddled with troubles. Hosting the World Cup catapulted Qatar onto the international stage, precariously propped by promises of economic growth and national security. Against the astronomical $220 billion cost to host the World Cup, the projected $17 billion economic gain is hardly expected to be sustained in the long term.

Instead, Qatar’s sponsorship of the World Cup can be seen as a power play. Qatar hopes to reap the intangible rewards of a favorable international profile.

Qatar’s rise to power
Since the discovery of oil in 1949, Qatar has been on a steady ascension to international prominence. Shaking off its tumultuous history from the Ottoman, Saudi, and British colonial powers since the mid-1800s, Qatar has striven to become an independent and distinguished Arab nation.

The Qatari government strategically availed its airstrips for U.S. operations in Afghanistan in 2001 and played a central role to mediate conflicts between other countries in the region, including Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt in 2011–2012 (Brittanica, History of Qatar). Qatar’s adaptability to reroute trade during the trade embargo imposed in 2017 from neighboring countries further demonstrates Qatar’s geo-economic resilience.

Invariably, hosting the 2022 World Cup serves as a testament to Qatar’s technological readiness, investment viability, and political strength — even if this global recognition is clouded with opaque ethical concerns.

Acting up
In spite of it all, there belies a curious undercurrent of resigned acceptance or willful ignorance amongst fans.

After polling some peers, an overwhelming majority have chosen not to boycott the World Cup citing numbness to its injustice, indifference as a non-paying spectator, or simple resignation to the fact that other professional sports are already marred by scandal, effectually absolving personal action. Certainly, ethical problems are not unique to Qatar, the World Cup, or FIFA. However, the ubiquity of corruption and human rights violations should not excuse us from upholding a consistent intolerance to injustice.

Practically, there are several things you can do now.

1. Educate yourself. Amnesty International has published a thorough report documenting the human rights violations rampant in Qatar since 2010 under FIFA’s oversight, and proposed remediation programs to address these issues. Human Rights Watch has also been at the forefront of highlighting human rights issues in this report. Take stock of the facts and nuances before being swept into a nearsighted dissent or worse, paralyzed inaction.
2. Limit your viewership. The truth is, the cost of our viewership is borne on the backs of exploited migrant men and women. While there is little dispute that boycotting the World Cup at this point would not effect lasting change, there still remains space for personal conviction to reject institutionalized corruption disguised in elite sports entertainment, by boycotting the tournament or limiting your spectatorship.
3. Speak out online. Advocating for social justice is not new to the professional soccer world. The Premier League and its players strapped on ‘No Room for Racism’ armbands and kneeled before games to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement that gained global traction since 2020. While some may write off such behavior as superficial branding tactics to maintain relevance, the truth is, powerful social movements have started online and reverberated into athletic spheres, evoking necessary responses to ethical wrongs.

It’s clear professional soccer is more than a recreational sport. Among many things, soccer has become a vehicle of social commentary and its barons — magnates of disproportionate influence. As spectators of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, we hold a personal responsibility to critically evaluate the ethical implications of our choices. Therein lies the true victory far beyond the pitch.