Before we delve into the intricacies and politics of the Qatar World Cup, we need to understand the brief history of FIFA, and its dark turn towards corruption and bribery. Back in 1904 when FIFA was founded, the 7 European founder’s sole aim was to create an organization that came together to host tournaments against each other for the promotion of football. This continued for several decades, even as more and more nations joined the fray.
HOWEVER, this all came crashing down in 1974, as Joao Havelange, then president of the Brazilian Sports Association, was elected FIFA President. This signaled FIFA’s turn towards capitalism, and within a few years everything was monetised, from marketing rights, to mega sponsorship deals. More infamously, Adidas founder Horst Dassler’s new company, International Sports and Leisure (ISL), held an almost complete monopoly over all television and marketing rights, holding all these rights for all world cups since 1974. Investigations found that Havelange was receiving payment from ISL of about $1 million per deal, so as to persuade him to continue to award these rights to ISL, in turn generating huge profit margins for them. But that’s not all…
Sebb Blatter, a name synonymous with FIFA, was secretary-general of the organization from 1974 to 1998, working as Havelange’s right hand man. And his name will also be forever synonymous with corruption. Rising to power in 1998, he quickly developed a knack for background politics and shady deals, committing a number of them during his 17 year stint as president. Even his election bid in 1998 was mired in controversy. Up against the significantly more popular Lennart Johansson, who had garnered support from much of Africa and Europe, how did Blatter even win by a 40 vote margin? It was revealed that prior to the voting congress, Blatter’s team visited multiple African and Caribbean football officials, offering them huge sums of money in order to secure their vote. And just like that, Johansson’s lead vanished into thin air, and he conceded the election after the first round of voting.
Now that we have established FIFA’s colorful history with corruption, the Qatar World Cup now makes more sense. How did a complete underdog, tiny nation, with almost no footballing infrastructure in the middle of the desert even win the bid to host THE world cup? Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, son of the Emir of Qatar and the chief of the bid committee, labeled the win as “one for the expansion of the game” as the tournament visited Arabian shores for the first time, and was devoid of any corruption. Obviously this was not the case. To no surprise, they had made friends in powerful places which catapulted them into hosting the tournament. In order to secure the bid for the world cup, voting is conducted among the 17 ExCo members of FIFA. Whistleblower Phaedra Almajid, who was kicked off the committee team just weeks after witnessing officials bribing the African contingent in the ExCo in a hotel in Angola, spoke up about the numerous instances of vote buying in Africa and the Caribbean, coupled with shady geopolitical deals in Asia. On December 2nd 2010, Qatar won the bid ahead of the likes of powerhouses USA, Japan and Australia, and thus created one of the biggest footballing controversies in history.
YOU ARE MY PROPERTY. As a nation highly dependent on migrant labor, Qatar’s checkered labor rights record has repeatedly hogged the spotlight with growing public scrutiny in the lead-up to the World Cup. The heart of the issue lies with the kafala system, an institutionalized apparatus that hides exploitative practices. Under the kafala system, local Qatari employers are responsible for the visa and employment contract of all migrant workers hired. In addition, migrant workers must also seek permission from their employers to leave the country or transfer their employment to another firm. So why is this an issue? The system is simply ripe for abuse, with many employers choosing to confiscate the passports of workers upon arrival in Qatar and deduct expenses such as air tickets and recruitment fees from their promised salary, knowing that the workers are legally unable to resign or otherwise seek justice for such abuses. Even in the rare occurrence that workers somehow manage to escape from the shackles of their employer, opaque dispute settlement mechanisms mean that their cases are rarely resolved in their favor. Worse still, they may also face criminal charges should they file an official complaint with the authorities - “absconding from work” is an offense in Qatar. In other words, migrant workers are akin to modern slaves to their Qatari employers, a truly appalling phenomenon in the 21st century.
Taking a closer look, the statistics thus far are just as shocking. Some two million migrant workers, predominantly from South Asia, make up more than 90% of Qatar’s labor force. Qatar’s population has significantly increased as migrant worker recruitment ramps up after the state’s successful bid to host the World Cup in 2010, in face of skyrocketing demand for labor to construct the numerous stadiums required. Despite forming the backbone of Qatar’s labor force, little has changed in terms of labor conditions, often with tragic consequences as a result. Some 6500 workers have died in the decade since, many from unexplained causes. Heatstroke has been cited as a key factor behind the generic “natural causes” cited on death certificates, with many forced to toil for long hours under extreme temperatures in the summer months without any shelter. While Qatar has an existing directive in place prohibiting outdoor work from 11am to 1pm in summer, ill enforcement means that the measure only exists on paper for many. A total of 15,021 non-Qatari fatalities have been recorded in the past decade, yet a lack of data on the specific causes of deaths obscures the true human cost of hazardous work.
FAR TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. Naturally, there had to be some semblance of damage control now that all this was dragged into the light. In response to unprecedented pressure from a coalition of international human rights organizations, the Qatari government has initiated a series of reforms aimed at safeguarding the migrant worker population. Under the Qatar National Vision 2030 initiative, a permanent monthly minimum wage of 1000 riyals (US$265) has been rolled out for all workers while the mandatory exit permit (for workers to leave Qatar) is now abolished. Enhanced (though vague) heat protection measures are in place for all workers while new labor courts have also been established to address workers’ grievances. However, major human rights organizations remain unconvinced and strongly believe that much more can be done. For instance, unpaid or underpaid wages dating back years have yet to be resolved for thousands of workers. Legislation shifts have yet to be translated into actual policy changes as well and many still struggle to navigate the onerous legal process to seek redress.
CORPORATE CONTROVERSY. Something that most people know if they watch any form of sports related content is that quite a bit of it revolves around advertisements. Naturally, a large proportion of FIFA’s revenue is derived from a handful of corporate sponsors that together deliver an estimated US$1.1b to the governing body’s coffers for Qatar 2022. The biggest brands in football have not been spared from the global uproar swirling around Qatar either as they face mounting pressure to address the egregious abuses taking place. Amidst the controversy, former sponsors Emirates and Sony have already opted not to renew their contracts for 2022. However, the majority have chosen to remain conspicuously silent and bide their time, brushing aside ethics concerns in their quest to project their brand image on the big stage.
Of course, if you just wish to watch the FIFA world cup while ignoring this entire can of worms, we understand. That however, brings us to our next question. What are the implications for football? Extreme weather conditions in the desert meant that the tournament had to be played in the winter, thus Qatar 2022 became the first world cup to be hosted in the winter. This had disastrous consequences for club football. Saddled right in the middle of the regular club football season, the 2022-2023 season thus had to be stopped midway to allow players to jet off with their countries to Qatar. For high-flying clubs like Arsenal and Napoli, who sit pretty at the top of their respective leagues, this causes a sudden break in momentum, and who knows what injuries may occur that derail their seasons. On top of that, player welfare was also of concern, with the amount of matches being played within the season increasing from about 50 to 60 games, in addition to decreased rest time between matches, increasing the risk of severe injury.
Understandably, outrage has erupted among all sectors of the footballing world. Pundits and fans alike have slammed FIFA and the organizers for standing by the decision to host the tournament in Qatar. Renowned footballers like Philipp Lahm have spoken out about the human rights and LGBTQ+ rights issues, and has decided not to travel to Qatar to support his team. Millions of fans have signed a petition boycotting the world cup, which begs the question, how will Qatar fill its new massive stadiums? In classic Qatari fashion, reports have emerged that they have “hired” thousands of Pakistanis to fly to Qatar and act as “fans'' of certain nations, while getting paid $200/night. This shameless attempt to salvage the world cup sounds so absurd, but it is exactly what this world cup has come to.
In a nutshell, Qatar 2022 has been a trainwreck, with controversy after controversy. From up top in the FIFA organization to the modern “slaves” that toil in the stadiums, it is clear that Qatar should never have won the bid in 2010. One can only hope that in the future, FIFA takes more prudence. The 2026 world cup is set to be held in North America, a wise choice that has sat well with many fans. This bodes well for the future.
Citations
Associated Press. (2022, November 10). Qatar again denies claim of cash offers to World Cup voters. Associated Press. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-soccer-sports-qatar-angola-0cf1840a879dee71234f287e44f15d9b
Ataullah, S. (2020, October 20). System of reporting absconding workers to be abolished soon. The Peninsula . Retrieved from https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/20/10/2020/System-of-reporting-absconding-workers-to-be-abolished-soon
FIFA: Time to compensate migrant workers in Qatar. Amnesty International. (2022, November 14). Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/05/fifa-time-to-compensate-migrant-workers-in-qatar/
Flynn, H. (2022, September 17). Sponsors can stand up to FIFA and Qatar World Cup. some have not. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/henryflynn/2022/09/17/sponsors-can-stand-up-to-fifa-and-qatar-world-cup-some-have-not/?sh=7318c0fc53a2
Keith, F. (2022, November 14). Inside Qatar's World Cup bid involving bribery allegations and FIFA U-TURN. Daily Mirror. Retrieved from https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-bid-corruption-28448619
Qatar: "in the prime of their lives": Qatar's failure to investigate, Remedy and prevent migrant workers' deaths. Amnesty International. (2021, August 26). Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde22/4614/2021/en/
Qatar: Labour reform unfinished and compensation still owed as World Cup looms . Amnesty International. (2022, October 20). Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/qatar-labour-reform-unfinished-and-compensation-still-owed-as-world-cup-looms/
World Cup sponsorship revenues have reduced 16% between 2014 and 2022, says GlobalData. GlobalData. (2022, October 25). Retrieved from https://www.globaldata.com/media/sport/world-cup-sponsorship-revenues-reduced-16-2014-2022-says-globaldata/
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