Qatar bids for the 2022 World Cup: Népotisme, slavery, and the most corrupt thing I’ve seen in my career
One of the greatest sporting events in human history will take place this November when billions of people watch the World Cup. It is an event that has brought war to a standstill, canonized sporting saints and sinners and united the planet in savor every last tackle and celebratory knee-slide.
Sex between men is illegal in the country and can result in up to three years in prison, as well as cases of torture and ill-treatment, according to a report from Human Rights Watch published last month.
And Qatari labor practices have been compared to modern slavery – a reported 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010. Many of these deaths could be related to the construction of buildings for the tournament.
With a population of three million, smaller than that of Connecticut, Qatar has invested billions in its football infrastructure in preparation for the 2022 tournament.
Indeed, the reports even went as far as to label Qatar’s bid as “high risk,” but the country nevertheless triumphed with 14 votes to USA’s eight in the final round of balloting.
Within a few days, two other firms bought pieces of Veolia and the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.
The son of the ex-head of the European football association was hired by a firm connected to the Qatari fund. Népotisme? Zut alors!
Don’t take our word for it. Matt Miller, a former Department of Justice official who traveled with former Attorney General Eric Holder to Zurich to witness the bidding process, told us: “It was the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen in my career, and I spent a couple years working in New Jersey politics.”
Why are football players allowed to wear rainbow armbands? The case of Qatar, a country where the same-sex relations are not the same
International television crews won’t be allowed to film in locations in the country without the consent of the authorities. James Lynch, a member of FairSquare, told the Guardian that it’s very difficult for the media to cover stories that aren’t related to games.
By the end of this tournament, every single person expected to watch has to know what is happening off screen.
For the better part of a year, the federations and representatives of the sport’s governing body had been in talks about a plan for the teams to wear multicolored bandanas with the message “One Love” during their matches. FIFA had been displeased by the idea, but the teams — which included the tournament contenders Germany, England, the Netherlands and Belgium — felt a tacit peace had been agreed to: The teams would wear the armbands, and FIFA would look the other way, then quietly fine them later for breaking its uniform rules.
Fans can help by using their social media platforms to call attention to Qatar’s human rights abuses, and by pressuring football associations to publicly support the #PayUpFIFA campaign.
England’s Football Association has been similarly weak in its response. After European football federations promised to call out Qatar with more than “just wearing a t-shirt,” they ended up settling on wearing rainbow armbands, which, quite literally, amount to less than a t-shirt.
Players have a crucial role in this effort as well as the national teams. We can only imagine how much pressure these athletes are under. They have likely dreamed about this moment since they were children – and fought so bloody hard and given up so much to make it a reality.
They didn’t start kicking the football until they knew they would have to speak about human rights. But there is also a long tradition of athlete activism, from Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in Mexico City to Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford combating child hunger in the United Kingdom.
This doesn’t mean every player must speak out. But those who do should be supported and amplified – like the Socceroos, Australia’s national soccer team, who called for remediation for workers who have been harmed and the decriminalization of all same-sex relationships in Qatar.
This is more than the World Cup and it’s important. There is a big question regarding whether people who believe in democratic and human rights will allow regimes to get away with hijacking sports.
Saudi Arabia is using sports to try and change its image. Russia and Bahrain have tried to do it through Formula One. Maybe if we take a stand against Qatar on the world stage, the next generation of autocrats will be more concerned about being humiliated than thirsty for a Beijing 2008 moment.
Our activism could also change the calculus for FIFA – which might be less inclined to award the World Cup to countries like Qatar if they know that doing so will result in years of boycotts, protests and damaging press.
This is important. Because as every football fan knows, the World Cup is more than a tournament. It’s been compared to a global eclipse which strikes the entire planet for a month at a time.
It’s a unique arena where nations can compete fiercely and then shake hands. It’s supposed to represent the best of us – our incredible diversity and our common humanity.
To be considered for a chance to perform in the opening ceremony, fans need to send a statement or image of their love for soccer by October 10. They are being given tickets to only one game, with no obligation to go to other events, in order to experience a “curated visit” to Qatar.
The program excludes people with obvious political affiliations and is aiming to get 30 to 50 supporters from each team, according to the documents.
The recruits have been told that the camera will focus on each national fan group, as part of the show. “Be prepared to cheer and shout in your shirt, flags and scarves.”
The fans are being offered economy-class flights and use of apartments worth thousands of dollars to stay until at least Dec. 4, or for the entire tournament if they choose, plus a daily allowance of 250 Qatari riyals ($68).
The opening ceremony project is an extension of a longer-term plan by World Cup organizers to choose “Fan Leaders” in each country who are asked to be social media influencers using the hashtag “IAMAFAN.”
The fan leaders have been told “we are not asking you to (be) a mouthpiece for Qatar,” but “it would obviously not be appropriate for you to disparage” the country or the tournament.
The influencers have also had to agree to “report any offensive, degrading or abusive comments” on social media to the organizing committee and, if possible, take screenshots.
The “Fan Leader Network” of more than 450 people in 59 countries was consulted by the organizers of the World Cup.
They are not fan representatives. They should be considered volunteers for the World Cup and employees according to the FSE executive director.
About 1.2 million international visitors are expected in Qatar for the month-long tournament, which has faced criticism and skepticism ever since the gas-rich emirate was picked by FIFA in December 2010.
The awarding of the tournament to Russia and then to Qatar have attracted allegations of corruption to the sport’s governing body. The US Justice Department alleged in 2020 that bribes were accepted by top global football officials before votes to allocate the two events. Officials in Russia and Qatar vigorously denied the allegations. Last year, the DOJ wrapped up a six-year investigation into soccer corruption by awarding $201 million to FIFA and the sport’s other global regulators, saying they had been victims of decades-long bribery schemes.
Although Qatar bid to stage a June-July tournament with air-conditioned stadiums, FIFA decided in 2015 to move the World Cup into cooler months in the middle of the traditional European soccer season.
FIFA has brought on the World Cup political storm in a tweet from the Saudi Arabian soccer fan after he complained about an anti-Israeli player’s refusal to sing their national anthem
The VAR video review system can send fans into fury, but so far the tournament has been consumed by more controversies than it has caused.
Now that the goals are flying in, the politics surrounding the Saudi Arabia team will be seen as a sideshow by many viewers who are morally conflicting about watching their team. But the political subplot also risks a PR debacle.
A sporting spectacular was turned into a diplomatic spat Tuesday after a football fan criticized the US Secretary of State about banning players from wearing OneLove armbands.
The world can be brought together due to the power of soccer, according to top Qatari officials and deputy US national security adviser Tony Blinken.
When there are restrictions on freedom of expression it is always concerning to me. It’s more important when the expression is for diversity and inclusion. If a football player chooses to support these values or play for their team, they should be free to do so.
Briana Scurry, a retired World Cup winning goalie for the US women’s national team, told CNN’s “Newsroom” Tuesday that FIFA had brought on this political storm with its choice of venue for the World Cup.
For instance, Iranian players declined to sing their national anthem in their opening game against England on Monday, in a possible protest about the violent suppression of dissent rocking the Islamic Republic.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/world/world-cup-politics-modern-world-analysis/index.html
World Cup Politics: The Rise and Fall of a Global Power in the Middle East, and the Story of the World Cup 2006 Olympics in England and Wales
The tournament is a test case of the zeal of Western institutions – sporting teams and leagues, cultural institutions and businesses – to grab a share of the gusher of cash coming from the Middle East despite the possible threat to their values.
Football is not the only sport changing because of this global power shift. England and Australia saw their share of the sport’s power decrease due to the fast and furious cricket league held in India. Formula One now sends its racers on multiple Middle East circuits in order to compete at speeds up to 200 mph. And Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is trying to bust the dominance of the venerable PGA tour in the US after snapping up golf stars like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson with massive pay incentives.
It’s not new for a global sporting event to unfold in a politically charged atmosphere. US athlete Jesse Owens, for example, undercut Adolf Hitler’s claims of a Nazi master race with his showing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, US track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos promoted civil rights with Black power salutes from the medal podium. Muhammad Ali was a racial and political icon as well as a boxing one. And the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were hit by boycotts related to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The cultural and religious clash between Western and conservative developing nations and in developed societies that include migrant communities and diverse creeds is highlighted by the kerfuffle over an attempt by captains of European nations to promote a gay pride issue during the World Cup.
England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales had planned to join the “OneLove” campaign. But their governing associations accused FIFA of threatening sporting sanctions on the players, including possible yellow cards, which could result in them being sent off if they picked up a second yellow card for a foul in a match.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/world/world-cup-politics-modern-world-analysis/index.html
The World Cup Finale is Coming: FIFA, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Soccer Critics: What will we learn in 2026?
Today I feel like I’m in a foreign land. Today I feel Arab. I feel like an African today. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker,” Infantino said.
Everything changed in the conference room on the 20th. Fatma Samoura, the second-ranking executive of world governing body FIFA, told the federations that their flags would be against the tournament’s uniform regulations but also considered a provocation towards Qataris, as the room’s large windows and its sweeping views of the Persian Gulf to her They would not be allowed, Samoura said. The Europeans were stunned.
The England team took a knee in a protest against racism before the match, which was shown to be a stark contrast to the political protests at sporting events.
The NBA has been more open in their support of players political expression. It is a thin line. China is known for being a hub of business and has faced criticism over its links to basketball.
The current conflict in golf is caused by the sense that athletes are held to higher moral standards than the government. Critics have slammed top pros for taking cash from Saudi Arabia, whose nationals made up 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001. The kingdom is getting a lot of US arms sales and this year, President Biden tried to get more oil production there to relieve high gasoline prices.
The world has changed and the tournament will show that. Soccer, despite the 1994 US-hosted World Cup, has struggled to make the cultural leap to become a dominant US pro sport, despite high youth participation. The hold it has on immigrant and diaspora communities is an increasingly important political demographic in the country.
Ever since sport went global, it’s always reflected social, cultural and religious trends and conflicts – despite calls from purists for it to remain a safe space from politics. So it’s a good bet that when the footballing circus arrives stateside in 2026, some new off the field controversy will be competing with the score for attention.
FIFA and Human Rights Propagation in Qatar: The First Nation to Play a World Cup Tournament in the First Twenty-Fifth Century
Qatar had never previously appeared at a World Cup tournament – let alone staged one – and became the first host nation to lose the opening game of the tournament with a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador on Sunday.
During the bidding process, it faced several obstacles as FIFA, football’s governing body, flagged concerns in technical reports. Those included a lack of existing infrastructure and the region’s intense heat in the summer, when World Cup tournaments are traditionally held.
Blatter said FIFA amended the criteria it used to select host countries in 2012 in light of concerns over the working conditions at tournament-related construction sites in Qatar.
The DOJ has been investigating allegations of corruption in international soccer, including FIFA, for years. There have been over twenty convictions so far, some cases are ongoing.
FIFA was handed victim status by US prosecutors as they viewed football’s world governing body as having been almost hijacked by a number of corrupt individuals.
Human rights organizations say migrant workers have faced delayed or unpaid wages and long hours in hot weather because of the country’s sponsorship system, since 2010.
However, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said the health, safety and dignity of “all workers employed on our projects has remained steadfast,” with “significant improvements” made around workers’ rights.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also told CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies that he has seen “great evolution” in Qatar’s labor reforms, and the International Labor Organization has noted reformes like a non-discriminatory minimum wage that Qatar is the first in the region to adopt.
In order to make the World Cup inclusive and discriminate-free, the SC sent a statement to CNN stating that the country has hosted hundreds of international and regional sporting events since being awarded the World Cup in 2010.
“Everyone is welcome in Qatar, but we are a conservative country and any public display of affection, regardless of orientation, is frowned upon. We simply need people to be respectful of our culture.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/football/qatar-fifa-world-cup-explainer-spt-intl/index.html
The Moroccan Night before the World Cup: The Awakening of a Spiritual Battleground in the Damned Moroccan Super Rugby Stadium
Perhaps the most obvious sign that this World Cup is different to most has been the decision to stage it in November and December, rather than June and July as is the norm.
Sweltering heat during the summer months in Qatar has necessitated the switch, although temperatures are still forecasted to rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) later this week.
There will be no alcohol at stadiums, and captains in seven countries were warned on Monday that they would be issued a yellow card if they wore wristbands promoting acceptance and opposing discrimination.
Time will tell what the legacy of this World Cup will be, but if the past few days, months, and years are anything to go by, it is likely to be complicated and controversial.
The government’s attempts to tether Team Melli’s identity to its own, along with the apparent willingness of some team members to play along, has further upset some Iranian fans. Many saw the team posing for photos with President Raisi as a betrayal. In the videos circulating on social media of the banners of Team Melli, you could see that the people of Iran were not happy.
Hakimi buried the ball in the back of the net. The stadium then shook in ways that the World Cup had never seen before. In a new football stage where Islam was neither fringe nor marginal, the Moroccan team dropped to their knees again in prayer. It was, rather, as native as the call to prayer that filled the night sky and the faith that fueled the dreams of a young Somali footballer – and millions of Muslim children who witnessed the history Morocco made in Qatar.
It was a spiritual scene in the stadium. Moroccan fans whistled incessantly when Spain took possession of the ball, then erupted with deafening roars when their Atlas Lions reclaimed it. Only the Sea of Gibraltar separates the European powerhouse from the African underdog, but the endless sea of Moroccan red in the stands and waves of prayer emanating from it confirmed this was a new kind of battleground.
The World Cup was held in a country where mosques stood tall next to state-of-the-art stadiums.
AMMAN, Jordan — Morocco’s stunning performance in the World Cup, its progress to a semifinal game with France and the worldwide elation it has engendered captures a special moment for Moroccans and many others from the Arab world and beyond.
They gravitated toward it by faith, and in response to an Islamophobia that has been fully and fervently global. New crusades spawned by two decades of a so-called War on Terror found a defiant rebuttal upon the unlikely stage of a football field.
I spoke to Hassan later and he said that he knew they were going to win. I felt that way as I boarded my plane and rushed to the stadium to catch the very last minutes of the game before it was over, wearing the same red shirt that was painted on the center of the stadium.
It was, from start to finish, a spiritual experience. Thousands of Moroccan fans waved and whistled, paraded and prayed inside the stadium, joined by billions of Muslim supporters from banlieues in Paris, lounges in Rabat and yes, living rooms in Spain.
I was there to see it, and more importantly, to feel it. Sensing that something bigger than football was at play as time stopped and the two teams prepared for penalty kicks.
Ziyech and Hakimi: the first football players to be born in the presence of the Atlas Lions, Yassine Bounou
In the center of a new football stage where Islam was neither fringe nor marginal, deviant or dangerous, the Moroccan team dropped to their knees in prayer.
Those who’ve made their football names with the big clubs are alongside virtual unknowns, like such stars as Ziyech and Hakimi. They prayed together, reciting Al Fatiha, the opening passage from the Qur’an and embodying the Islamic tenet that renders all believers – regardless of their station in life, or how bright their star shined – equal.
Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, or “Bono,” stopped kicks from Spain’s Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets, supported by a different “Hand of God” as Spain’s Pablo Sarabia’s strike ricocheted off the post.
Hakimi stood with his head bowed. Then raised his eyes forward, toward the goal and in the direction of history. The eyes of Muslims all over the world are locked on the star.
Some 6,000 kilometers away, on the east side of London, Youssef Mohamed stared wide eyed at the screen. The six-year-old son of a man who played football for the vaunted Chelsea Football Club Academy saw something different in Hakimi and the Morocco team. He saw a Muslim footballer defiantly proud of who he was, and for a young boy grappling with matters of identity still unclear to him, saw himself.
The history of the hunt will always be remembered by the hunter, regardless of whether the lions have their own historians. Muslims were given new historians who rose above their Islamophobia to win the hearts of the world, thanks to the Atlas Lions.
I am the last person who would normally making such grandiose pronouncements based on a sporting event. When I was a child growing up in Morocco, my interest in football was total, despite the fact that it was soccer. I was the gangly, uncoordinated kid who was picked last when teams were selected in gym class. The closest I could get to the ball would be when it hit me in the back of the head as I shifted across the field. My friends liked to collect Panini sticker albums of the players in the World Cup, but I preferred the ones that were about dinosaurs.
An Atlas Lions Story of the World Cup: How a Nation Celebrates the End of the Arab War and the Dialogue Between the Palestinians and the Arabs
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The Atlas Lions are the team that ripped up the history books at the World Cup. All expectations were upended when they advanced deep into unexplored territory, further than any other African team has ever achieved before.
The players’ families have been integral to the success of a team whose foreign-born players come from six different countries, North African football expert Maher Mezahi told CNN. The coach told them that even though they have different cultural baggage, they are all united by their parents. And we won’t have any success if our parents aren’t happy,’” said Mezahi.
It’s a feel-good vibe which has spread far beyond the stadiums and streets of Qatar, and which is at odds with a more common narrative in an Arab world riddled with growing youth unemployment, ballooning inflation, rising poverty rates and political violence.
It’s “a source of joy for a region that’s been marred by violence and upheaval,” Samia Errazzouki, a PhD candidate in Northwest African history at UC Davis, told CNN. “I think this moment of joy resonates with everyone who is downtrodden.”
“If anything, [the World Cup] has shown the stark contrast between the rulers and the ruled, between the regimes and the publics,” he said. Palestine is not being forgotten.
The Emir of Qatar was able to unite all his country’s Arabs during the World Cup, according to Ramadan.
Amro Ali, a Sociology professor at the University of Casablanca, argued that Qatar has given supporters of the Palestinian cause an “unfiltered and unmediated” space, where they could express solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in occupied territories.
In 2020, Morocco was one of four Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, departing from a long-time regional policy that conditioned normalization on ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, where Israel still maintains a blockade alongside Egypt. A continued hostility towards Israel, andsweeping displays of solidarity with Palestinians, highlights the difference between the official positions of those governments.
Moroccan sports journalists covering the games have said that they’re trying to soak up every single detail, because they know that in 40 years, future generations will demand a visceral reproduction of these historical events.
By then, the story will be a fable. The team will become almost mythical figures and the women will be at the center of it. The mothers’ pride of The Atlas Lions will never be forgotten.
The 24 hours that followed, a flurry of meetings and threats and raised voices and brinkmanship, are just a memory this weekend, as Argentina and France prepare to play in the World Cup final on Sunday. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the discussions; this article is based on interviews with multiple participants in the talks, many of whom asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to relate private discussions to the news media.