The Dark Side of FIFA

By Kian Khadempour

The logo for the 2022 Qatar World Cup
 

With the recent conclusion to the World Cup, I think that it is important to shine a light on the things that were instrumental in making it possible. La’eeb, the cup’s official mascot, may look like a cute keffiyeh, but in reality hides a dark secret full of bribes, human rights abuses, and modern-day slavery.

 

FIFA and bribery:

FIFA, French acronym for “International Association Football Federation”, was founded in 1904 to oversee the rules of football, also known as soccer in some countries, with the first World Cup being held in 1930. Ever since 2006 though, FIFA has also been known for corruption and bribery. This World Cup has been no exception. More than half of the people involved in the votes to select the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups have been accused of wrongdoing. It was revealed that Qatar had paid voters to vote for their bid to be the host country of the World Cup. This wasn’t surprising, however, as the previous World Cup in Russia had also been the result of bribery. FIFA officials also accepted bribes during these two events by Fox Corporation, which got exclusive broadcast rights to the games in the U.S.

 

Qatar’s lack of human rights:

Qatar ranks 128th on the Human Freedom Index, below even Russia. This is widespread knowledge now, but even in 2010, when they were announced as the host of the World Cup, people knew about their lack of freedom. Women in Qatar are tied to a male, usually their husband or father, and are practically controlled by them. The laws in Qatar also make it extremely hard for women to get divorces, which further binds them to their husbands. The government has said that they have changed their policies, but this isn’t well demonstrated in cases like that of Noof al-Maadeed, who disappeared for months after returning to Qatar from the UK, where she went to escape from her abusive family. Noof later posted a video of herself saying that she is fine and alive, but she may have been forced by the government to do so, as she gave them praise in the video. Qatar is also known for its history of anti-LGBTQ policies, such as the law that punishes gay sex with up to seven years in prison. The third example of human rights abuses is the kafala system.

 

The Kafala System:

The kafala system, meaning “sponsorship system”, is a set of laws that are common across many Middle Eastern countries that allows almost total control over migrant workers. This started as a way to get cheap labor, but has been devastating for the people who get trapped in it, and has been called modern slavery by experts and critics. This is the way all of Qatar’s seven new stadiums got built. The workers, mainly from South Asian countries like India and Indonesia, are often required to pay their employers before they even start working, which traps them with that employer because they need to pay off the debt. After signing the predatory contracts, sometimes in languages they don’t even know, their passports, visas, and phones are taken away, another way of trapping them. The wages they earn, which are already borderline unlivable, can be reduced as punishment, while their living conditions are unsanitary, cramped, and unsafe. If they don’t like something and want to apply for a different job, their employer can at any time invalidate their sponsorship and send them back to their home countries. Vox’s video covers what these workers had to go through while building the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

 

With all these strikes against them, was Qatar the best place to host the World Cup? FIFA officials would say yes, but I would disagree. I think that the last two World Cups have not gone to the right countries, and that respect for human rights should be a precondition for any country to host the World Cup. In addition to that, FIFA’s voting system obviously needs an overhaul to prevent bribery and other wrongdoings. If this happens again, maybe a boycotting of the World Cup is necessary for FIFA to realize that people care.

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