Qatar’s selection to host this year’s FIFA World Cup brought cheers to the streets of Doha as the first edition of the tournament was celebrated in the Arab world.

However, the choice, made in 2010, immediately drew criticism. Regarding allegations of bribery and corruption among his FIFA officials who voted for Qatar. And concerns about Human Rights violations that have continued for years since.

With the World Cup just days away, the Gulf nations await the arrival of over one million fans. Billions more are expected to watch his 64 matches in the tournament. However, the controversy has not subsided.

Most recently, even the former FIFA boss said Qatar’s choice was a mistake.

“It was a bad choice. At the time, as president, I was responsible for it,” said Sepp Blatter, whose tenure as FIFA administrator ended in a bribery scandal in 2015.

Lack of Infrastructure and Deaths of Migrant Workers
Qatar is the smallest country to have hosted the World Cup, a complex international sporting event that draws large numbers of visitors, and lacks the infrastructure to accommodate them. I need it.

At just 4,471 square miles, Qatar is about 20% smaller than Connecticut. Most of the country is barren and sandy, and most of the 2.8 million people live around the capital, Doha.

When Qatar was elected in 2010, it lacked many of the stadiums, hotels and highways needed to host the tournament. To build them, the country turned to a huge number of migrant workers, who make up over 90% of the workforce. (Of Qatar’s inhabitants, only about 300,000 are Qatari citizens, far outnumbering migrant workers whose visas are tied to employment, which is the prevailing system in the Middle East.)

Working and living conditions for these migrant workers were often exploitative and dangerous. A 2021 study by The Guardian found that since 2010, more than 6,500 migrant workers from five South Asian countries have died in Qatar for any number of reasons, including work-related injuries, car accidents, suicides, and deaths from other causes, including heat. was found to have died in

“Some of them are workers who died after they collapsed and were lifted from the construction site of the stadium. He died a mysterious death in a labor camp,” Pete Pattison, one of the investigative reporters, said in an interview with NPR last year.

FIFA and Qatar dispute this figure. Qatar has admitted that the deaths of its 37 workers were “not work-related”, saying he was the only three deaths directly caused by working on the World Cup construction site. increase.

Qatar has also described the World Cup as an “incredible opportunity to improve social standards”, with officials saying conditions for workers have improved since their election. Proponents say the new regulations are not always enforced.)

In May, a coalition of human rights organizations called on FIFA and Qatar to set up a relief fund. The fund is a pool of funds that can be used to compensate migrant workers and the families of those who died from the abuses they suffered during the construction of the stadium and other infrastructure needed for the World Cup.

According to them, the funding he will be more than $ 440 million. This is the same amount as the World Cup prize money.

“Players don’t want to play in stadiums that workers risked their lives to build. I don’t want to do anything,” said Minky Warden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, one of the foundation’s sponsors.

Other human rights abuses
Concerns about human rights abuses go beyond the treatment of migrant workers. “In short, the human rights situation in Qatar is bad,” Warden told NPR.

This week, Human Rights Watch told journalists by releasing a 42-page report outlining “numerous human rights issues surrounding Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup.” I urged you to look beyond soccer.

Qatar’s penal code criminalizes sex outside of marriage, leading to prosecution of rape victims. Also, homosexuality is effectively criminalized. Sex between men is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and a man who “incites” or “induces” another man to “act of bestiality or immorality” faces from one to three years in jail. increase.

In a recent interview with the German broadcaster, the Qatar World Cup ambassador described homosexuality as ‘psychologically damaging’.

“The most important thing is to accept everyone coming here. But they will have to accept our rules,” said former Qatar ambassador Khalid Salman. The comments have been widely criticized by Western officials, including the US State Department.

LGBTQ people in Qatar face conversion therapy, harassment from authorities and prison terms, advocates say.

“Fear is very real,” said Dr. Nasser Mohamed, who grew up in an ultra-conservative Qatari community, and has applied for asylum in the United States for fear of retaliation for his sexuality.

In a statement to NPR, the Qatari embassy said “the safety of all visitors is paramount” to the host country and that Qatar is a “relatively conservative society”.

“Everyone will be welcome in Qatar for the World Cup,” the statement said.

The November schedule puts a lot of strain on many players.
The World Cup is traditionally held in the summer. However, the heat and humidity of Qatar’s summer made this unsustainable and the event was rescheduled for November instead. It caused significant disruption to professional football, especially in Europe, where most league schedules usually run from late summer into the following spring. Top professional leagues such as the English Premier League, German Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga have all announced their two-month hiatus from the World Cup.

According to a new report from his FIFPRO, a union representing his 65,000 players around the world, this tight schedule has created an “unprecedented amount of work” for the players.

During a typical summer World Cup in the past, Premier League players have spent an average of 31 days preparing and 37 days recovering. According to the union, this year the preparation and recovery time has been reduced to seven days each and his to eight days.

“Overlapping matches, back-to-back matches, extreme weather conditions, reduced preparation time and lack of recovery time all combine to pose a sinister threat to player health and performance,” the report said. increase. FIFPRO consultant and sports scientist Darren Burgess said his 4,444 players in the Cup “are at very high risk of injury.”