The final ball hadn’t even been kicked in Russia before some – mostly European media – started to get themselves into a lather over the fact Qatar will be the next host of the FIFA World Cup.
Of course, this isn’t news, it’s been known for the better part of eight years.
But with confirmation of the tournament dates from FIFA, an announcement initially made three years ago, and the winding down of the tournament in Russia, for some the realisation became too much.
It’s been hilarious to see so many people up in arms over the first ‘winter’ World Cup. Of course, that would be northern hemisphere winter, but such claims say much about how those spruiking view football. For them, it’s only the European game.
One point disgraced former FIFA President Sepp Blatter made after the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar, one that I happen to agree with, was that football is the world game and every corner of the globe should be able to bid for and host its most prestigious tournament. Is it fair that an entire region of the planet be excluded because history says it has to be played in a prescribed two-month period?
The world is changing, and football needs to change with it. If that means having to move one or two seasons of football, then so be it.
Dozens of leagues across the world already break for the World Cup every four years (and you never hear those leagues complain about the interruption to their leagues every four years) and many in Europe already have winter breaks.
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Ironically enough, Qatar’s season is one that will be affected by the change in dates, as will a lot of other leagues across Asia, mostly in the Middle East.
There are a number of legitimate issues surrounding Qatar and its hosting of the World Cup, and they are worthy of the intense scrutiny they have received, which has already led to significant reforms of the labour system. More improvements are still needed, but without football’s focus, these recent changes wouldn’t have been made. This is one global sporting event that may actually leave a lasting legacy.
Interestingly though, Russia had many similar issues that weren’t given the same intense scrutiny. Many still don’t know of claims the stadiums in Russia were built using slave labour from around the world.
When you add in other human rights issues, the treatment of black athletes, the treatment of LGBTIQ people, their annexation of Crimea, and the shooting down of MH17 – not to mention the way they were awarded the hosting in the same dubious process as Qatar – there were no shortage of issues with Russia earning hosting rights.
Many of these received widespread attention, but not to the same scale we’ve seen with Qatar.
Are Russia seen as a more palatable host? Is it simply a matter of geography and the fact Russia (well, half of it anyway) is in Europe, rather than the Middle East?
Whatever it is, people accepted Russia as a host, many of whom now refuse to accept Qatar as host.
(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Hypocrisy? I think so.
Russia had more than its fair share of issues, and yet people in their hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, travelled from all over the globe and put that to one side to enjoy what was one of the best World Cups in recent memory.
Russia opened itself to the world, and the world opened itself to Russia.
Tens of thousands of words were written about the barriers being smashed, as people from around the world got to see a different side to the Russia we hear about in the media. Long-held perceptions were shattered in the space of a few weeks.
‘Don’t judge a country and its people by its leaders and politicians’ was the lesson we learnt, and it’s one that should equally apply to Qatar – but one I have a feeling that won’t be.
I’ve heard numerous times from different people, many who were in Qatar, that they will boycott the 2022 World Cup as their little protest. Given these same people travelled to Russia, it’s hard to know what they’re actually protesting. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Qatar is ready to open itself to the world; I just hope the world is willing to give them the same chance they gave Russia.
They may be pleasantly surprised (again!) by what they find.
Bobbym
Guest
You got to be kidding me. DO you know how many people have died in slave conditions building these white elephant stadiums?
Dan in Devon
Guest
Having lived in Al Sadd, I agree with your comments on lack of pedestrian infrastructure - but generally it’s too hot to walk around except in the winter months. Qatar is a good experience for tourists but one underpinned by a labour system where migrant workers endure ridiculous working conditions and poor living conditions for very poor pay. I wonder how they will deal with the alcohol restrictions or requirements for modesty in dress and personal conduct. I understand that the deaths of workers in stadiums has been understated.
Fred
Guest
Yes that's why I said they're rivals.
Daniel
Guest
There is a massive difference between a country's infrastructure being built by quasi-slave labour, and the stadium that you're sitting in that was built for the world cup being built by quasi-slave labour.
Rolly
Guest
Qatar did not obtain the rights fair and square it lied in its bid and acted underhandedly.it robbed Australia of its greatest chance yet. russsia bombs terrorists Qatar funds terrorists .
Nemesis
Guest
@Fred I think you'll find Saudi Arabia & Qatar are seriously opposed to each other right. In fact, the Saudis - along with UAE, Bahrain & Egypt - have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar & this is creating a blockade to stop movement of goods & people trying to gain entry into Qatar. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/05/middleeast/saudi-bahrain-egypt-uae-qatar-terror/index.html
rajiv
Guest
The World Cup should be awarded to the country which has played the most World Cup finals games since they last hosted . If they have never hosted this means the number of all their finals games Simple formula . Two or more countries can combine if they wish eg Netherlands and Belgium ( which I think would win under this formula ) Similar formula for the Olympics -country which has most medals since last hosted ( if they want to of course ) But this would mean awarding on merit rather than politics so it will never happen
13th Man
Guest
Nah honestly its such a joke. Qatar is a tiny country the size of a large city in the middle of the desert with only 2.5 million people and with a team that struggles to even make the Asian Cup let alone a World Cup. Add into this the fact Qatar has slave labor, poor working conditions and even fund terrorist organisations and the fact that it was purely corruption that even won them the bid in the first place! There is no comparison to Russia, none whatsoever. Russia is a massive country with a huge population with some kind of football history, yes its controversial but nothing like Qatar! The fact the likes of England, Australia and USA were all snubbed in favour of an oil rich country with absolutely nothing else to offer spectators other than searing heat and flash buildings shows just how wrong FIFA has got it. Personally I hope its an absolute flop of a World Cup just so FIFA realises what a terrible mistake they made!
Fred
Guest
To me it's a pretty simple distinction: Russia bombs Al Qaeda Qatar funds Al Qaeda. Qatar (along with their Saudi rivals) are the biggest funders of terror groups in the world
Redondo
Guest
The survey actually expresses the % relative to the full population (30,000 of 2.2 mill) so I don’t think it misstates Qatar’s position. But, yes, it’s a dark grey rabbit hole (and of course there’s no real assurances about how individual cases are classified). On the other side of this argument, I wonder how bad a country would have to be to dissuade the Russia/Qatar defenders from attending or supporting.
AGO74
Guest
There is a small but very important error inyour statement - it’s % of citizens in slavery, not % of population that Global Slavery Index is referring too (I assume this is your source as they note the same countries you do). Importantly how they define slavery is somewhat ambiguous and is based on surveys (?). All the “guest” workers in Qatar are not citizens of Qatar - they are citizens of India, Bangladesh, Philippines etc, not Qatar. hence they are not included in the numbers you quote. The actual number of Qatari citizens in terms of its total population is estimated to be somewhere between 10%-20% of total population with the rest “guest” workers. The treatment of “guest” workers which make up 80-90% of the population is well know. Not dismissing the issues in the nations you note but I dare say those countries do not import 8-9 times the population of their country to do their labour. Anyway, we seem to be going down a rabbit hole of very dark shades of grey here so might leave it at that.
Nemesis
Guest
Before Qatar 2022, I'll be looking forward to exploring the Gulf Region next January for the Asian Cup. It's a region that's fascinated me for some time.
Nick
Roar Guru
interesting how you have zero objection going despite their appalling human rights record to migrant labour. But then you don't have a personal vested interest in that... I do hope you insist on championing their rights when you applaud a well run world cup there.
XI
Roar Guru
Saying Russia is conservative on GSM rights is putting very mildly. The whole reason those anti-aging propaganda laws exist is so they can make it illegal without it specifically being illegal.
Cousin Claudio
Roar Guru
Middle east countries have more dollars than sense. Former camel herders who struck oil. The awarding of 2018 to Russia and Qatar in 2022 carries the biggest corruption stench in the history of sport. FIFA is the most corrupt sporting organisation in the world and will never lose that tag. What alternative do we have, after all its the sport we follow, not the politics.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"The Filipino, Nepalese, Kenyan etc workers are not going to the football stadiums." Not unless they make the tickets very cheap so they can afford them. They might even get a decent crowd in if the Philippines, Nepal and Kenya all qualify.
Torchbearer
Guest
As pointed out earlier...from wiki.."In early 2017, Qatar's total population was 2.6 million: 313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates" So, it is actually a country of 313,000! The Filipino, Nepalese, Kenyan etc workers are not going to the football stadiums.
Redondo
Guest
Uzbekistan, Cambodia and India all rank worse then Qatar for % of population in slavery conditions. We happily play football against the first, have a refugee resettlement agreement with the second, and regularly play cricket against the third. I have not heard a whisper of protest from any Australian about these countries, apart from the occasional complaint about the Cambodian arrangement. Why is that?
AGO74
Guest
You are right in that every individual on this planet directly or indirectly contributes to exploitation. No question. The point is that even with exploitation in n one way or another, the scale of the barbaric conditions and resulting deaths of labourers in Qatar (as well as neighbour cities such as Dubai) is on a scale that is basically as bad as it gets. So where is the line crossed as to reasonable (for want of a better term) and what is unreasonable in terms of exploitation? Well that is an individual position and even if you have a position, ultimately unless you live a hermit life in a forest you cannot help but contribute to it in some way. However when you consider that Qatar is basically an entire society built on systemic human exploitation I think most reasonable people can agree that Qatar has well and truly crossed the line in terms of decency.
chris
Guest
Redondo people in Qatar die a lot quicker building stadiums whilst lots more people die a little slower working for Nike, Apple etc. It is a dilemma for sure.