Although Qatar is not famous for being a sports country, it has managed to attract the world of sports thanks to the organization of the World Cup. Indeed, sport – along with tourism – is expected to be a key part of Qatar’s economic future given its finite oil and gas reserves.
However, Qatar’s status as host of the World Cup has been highly controversial. Why has it happened? And how have FIFA and Qatar managed to deflect criticism?
Qatar: Surprising host
In 2010, Qatar surprisingly won FIFA’s vote to host the 2022 World Cup, a decision critics blamed on outside influences beyond the bid itself.
It was difficult to understand how Qatar, with average daytime temperatures of over 40℃ in summer, was an ideal environment for this tournament.
A few years later, in an unprecedented decision, FIFA allowed Qatar to move the event to its winter, despite the fact that it would disrupt competition calendars in the northern hemisphere.
Thus, despite the fact that some critics called for the organization of the World Cup to be withdrawn from Qatar, this tiny Gulf country, with an exceptionally rich economy derived from oil and gas, retained the support of FIFA.
renewed pressure
However, FIFA’s support for Qatar soon came under further pressure, for two main reasons.
First, critics reaffirmed their dismay that the host country is hostile to homosexuality. In 2010, FIFA was aware of Qatar’s position that homosexuality is an affront to Islam, and agreed that Qatar should not deviate from its cultural norms.
In response, then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter awkwardly joked that LGBTQI+ soccer fans could “refrain” from any amorous activities while in Qatar.
Second, Qatar had allowed vulnerable foreign workers – critical to the construction of the World Cup infrastructure – to be exploited, with conditions of employment and living close to slavery.
Although precise numbers are hard to come by, research conducted in February 2021 by Guardian estimated that there had been around 6,500 workplace deaths in the decade after the World Cup hosting was awarded to Qatar. Although not all of them worked specifically at the tournament facilities, experts say that most were employed in the infrastructure works that support the event.
FIFA was well aware that stadium construction would depend on imported foreign labor under the so-called “kafala system”, which allows wealthy businessmen to oppress impoverished workers.
Human rights
The reluctance of the West to have Qatar chosen as the host of the World Cup has undoubtedly provoked an awakening of what has been described as “FIFA’s sensitivity towards human rights”. Two facts stand out:
First, in the face of concerted pressure on human rights, FIFA’s statutes were amended in 2013 to state that discrimination based on “sexual orientation” is “strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion” from the competition.
However, the hosts of the World Cup Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) already had contracts at that time to organize the event in accordance with their own laws and customs, which are hostile to homosexuality.
FIFA, by choosing not to press the issue of sexual freedom with either of the two intended hosts, was effectively delaying the implementation of the anti-discrimination measures included in its 2013 amended statute.
In fact, for the 2026 World Cup, human rights have been a central element of the host city selection process, with candidates required to “develop detailed human rights plans”.
Secondly, under concerted pressure from workers’ rights organizations, FIFA undertook to respect the conventions of the International Labor Organization. Therefore, FIFA’s Human Rights policy in 2017 was in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. However, once again, it was a position for the future: the agreements with the candidacies of Russia and Qatar were already signed.
FIFA could, if it wished, threaten to withdraw any of the two agreements already signed with the two venues. But he had no interest in the logistical consequences or the possible legal repercussions. Instead, in the case of Qatar, FIFA consoled itself by advocating for reforms of the working conditions of foreign workers.
According to a report by Equidem, a labor and human rights charity, the exploitation of migrant workers has continued, meaning promised reforms have not been adequately implemented.
In addition, Qatar has fiercely rejected the demands of human rights organizations – along with FIFA – that it must compensate the families of foreign workers killed in the construction of the World Cup infrastructure.
extraordinary magnitudes
Qatar has made an extraordinary effort to host the World Cup, spending an estimated $100 billion on infrastructure. Daytime temperatures in winter can often reach 30℃, so all eight stadiums (seven of them new) will be heated to a minimum of 24℃.
To move spectators around the venues, the Doha Metro has been created, complemented by a new bus transport system.
Eleven luxury hotels opened just before the World Cup, and room volume across Qatar has tripled in the past decade. However, this will be insufficient to accommodate the almost three million fans that were expected to travel to Doha.
Added to this are the cruise ships and floating mini-hotels, as well as the tiny cabins and tents in the fans’ village.
Qatar claims the World Cup will be carbon neutral thanks to renewable energy and carbon offsets, and a tenfold increase in green spaces around Doha, including more than a million new trees.
Some climate experts have questioned the strength of such claims.
But the use of recycled shipping containers in stadium construction, as well as the planned donation of reusable seats in several stadiums, speak to Qatar’s growing commitment to sustainability.
Temporarily adjust local rules
Qatar, despite organizing a global event, does so from a local perspective. It is the first Muslim country to host the World Cup and thus brings its own vision of the world to the FIFA competition.
Two issues are likely to test both hosts and football fans.
Firstly, the World Cup has long been associated with the consumption of large amounts of alcohol. Although alcohol is readily available in Qatar, drinking in public is against the law.
This position has been modified for the World Cup: alcohol will be sold in the stadium enclosures, but not during the matches. Fans will have to quench their thirst within three hours before the start of the match and one hour after the match.
However, the fan zone (fan zone) of Qatar, with a capacity of 40,000 people, allows the sale of alcohol from 18:30 to 1:00, so it is possible to watch the night games on the big screen while drinking a beer. However, those who drink too much risk being temporarily housed in “sobriety tents”.
Second, Qatar has tried to reassure football fans of any sexual orientation that they will be safe and welcome, albeit with the caveat that public displays of affection – of any kind – are “frowned upon” locally.
As with alcohol, it now appears that Qatar will temporarily accommodate different rules. According to a report by a Dutch news site, which said it had seen documents shared between the tournament organizers and the Qatari police, people in the LGBTQI+ community who “show affection in public will not be reprimanded, detained or prosecuted. They may carry rainbow flags. Same-sex couples may share a hotel room.
The world has come to Qatar and, at least for a while, the country is adjusting its local rules. A more lasting legacy of the World Cup has been the introduction of gradual reforms in the treatment of foreign workers, although the lack of compensation for the families of deceased workers continues to spell a red card for Qatar.
Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.