Cameron Hill
With less than 18 months to go until the tournament, will anyone stand up to the Qatari state’s human rights abuses?
When it comes to discussing the contemporary relationship between sport and the Middle East, ‘sportswashing’ has emerged as quite a useful term. While the exact definition of the term has been contested by historians and sports journalists alike, many agree that sportswashing is, simply put, the practice of using sports to distract from a state’s more contemptible policies. As football writer Miguel Delaney puts it, sportswashing serves to conceal a “state’s human rights abuses amid the euphoria of victory” (Delaney, 2020).
There are myriad examples of sportswashing throughout history, from the “bread and circuses” of Roman gladiatorial battles to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Indeed, in the last century, the FIFA World Cup has repeatedly been exploited by countries in the hopes of forging a positive international image. Mussolini viewed Italy’s hosting of the tournament in 1934 as a prime opportunity to promote fascism and to showcase the supreme athleticism and masculinity of the Italian race.
Similarly, the 1978 Finals in Argentina were used as propaganda by the country’s ruling military junta through what sports journalist Will Hersey describes as a “play on football’s innate patriotism” (Hersey, 2018). Even France’s triumph at the 1998 edition of the tournament was used for political gain, with star of the tournament Zinedine Zidane becoming the poster boy for France’s success as a multicultural, progressive society.
Qatar’s hosting of the tournament in the winter of 2022 is undoubtedly another example of sportswashing. Their selection as the host nation has been mired in controversy ever since it was announced by then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter in December 2010. In the intervening years since Qatar was awarded the tournament, there has been turmoil, scandal and revelations of corruption at FIFA, an effective blockade of Qatar by its neighbours on the Arabian Peninsula, and countless protests by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International. Nevertheless, the show appears to be going on.
At the heart of the controversy surrounding Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup is the notorious kafala system, the oppressive structure used to monitor and limit the rights of migrant workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Under the system, migrant workers are “in effect reduced to the status of illegal aliens, […] not entitled to any legal protection” and “unable to change jobs or leave the country without their sponsor company’s permission.” (Pattisson, 2013). The system, along with the scores of migrant workers who have died during the construction of stadiums for the tournament, has led to widespread criticism of Qatar. In March, German supporters group ProFans Alliance suggested that the tournament would be a “lavish football festival on the graves of thousands of migrant workers” (as quoted in Delaney, 2021).
In September 2020, reforms in Qatari employment law saw the kafala system effectively abolished. However, the number of migrant workers deaths during the building of infrastructure for the tournament continues to soar. The producers of ESPN’s 2014 documentary ‘Trapped in Qatar’ estimated that by the time the competition kicks off on 21 November 2022, 4,000 migrant workers will have perished. In February 2021, The Guardian reported that more than 6,500 workers have died since Qatar was awarded the tournament.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the tournament have assured FIFA that LGBTQ+ flags and symbols will not be removed from stadiums, despite the fact that homosexuality is considered a crime under Qatari law. The 2022 World Cup chief executive Nasser Al-Khater explained: “We are open and welcoming — hospitable. We understand the difference in people’s cultures. We understand the difference in people’s beliefs and so I think, again, everybody will be welcome and everybody will be treated with respect” (as quoted in ESPN, 2020). Anti-discrimination activists have called upon the Qatari government to repeal anti-homosexuality laws altogether; however, there appears to be no plans from Qatar to make any permanent changes for the foreseeable future.
Despite these major ethical concerns, at the moment, there are no signs that FIFA are considering a move to strip Qatar of their World Cup. Whether the changes to Qatari law and culture are permanent or not is irrelevant, as long as the changes are in place by the time ‘the greatest show on Earth’ comes to town. During the 2010 tournament in South Africa, the governing body set up their own “FIFA World Cup courts” which, according to journalist Marina Hyde, were “specially established to deal swiftly with anyone besmirching the good name of this football tournament.” (Hyde, 2010). In other words, FIFA are no strangers to intervening in a country’s affairs if football’s good name is in jeopardy. Nor will they be frightened by any attempts to prevent Qatar from hosting the tournament, or threats to boycott it. The 1978 tournament was on the brink of disaster when West Germany, the defending champions, threatened to withdraw from the competition in response to the Argentinian junta’s use of torture on political opponents. Johan Cruyff, the world’s best player at the time, did pull out of the Holland team, however.
Qatar was in a similar crisis in 2017 when four Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – cut off economic and political ties to the country. Their ultimatum to Doha was expressed in a tweet by Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan, Head of Dubai Security for the UAE: “If the World Cup leaves Qatar, the crisis will go away … because the crisis is created to break it”. The crisis ended on 4 January 2021, with the Qataris and Saudis agreeing to a resolution brokered by Kuwait and the United States.
FIFA remain strongly supportive of the Qatar World Cup; a statement from March 2021 demonstrates their view of the tournament as a force for positive and effective change in the country: “The FIFA World Cup 2022 has already now contributed significantly to the transformation of the labour rights situation in Qatar with important legal changes being implemented by the Qatari authorities.”
“The increase in public scrutiny has in fact exposed the human rights abuses that the World Cup euphoria was supposed to paint over.”
The organisation did not penalise Norway after players wore t-shirts reading “Human rights on and off the pitch” before a qualifying match against Gibraltar in March. Yet, FIFA maintains that “change is best achieved by working collaboratively with others so that we can continue to ask the right questions,” a response which barely acknowledges Qatar’s appalling human rights record and certainly does not condemn it.
Many have argued that Qatar’s sportswashing exercise has failed spectacularly; the increase in public scrutiny has in fact exposed the human rights abuses that the World Cup euphoria was supposed to paint over. However, the success of Qatar’s attempt at sportswashing can only be properly measured once the tournament begins. Qatar’s national football team have improved significantly since 2010, rising sharply in the World Rankings from 112th to their current position at 58th, and winning the 2019 Asian Cup, beating World Cup regulars South Korea and Japan on the way to the trophy. At the very least, the hosts will be competitive in the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.
The desire to make the national team a respectable footballing concern seems to show the organisers’ awareness of football’s capacity for overwhelming emotion. Football fans, famously, have very short memories – once-loved players and managers can fall out of favour quickly if results do not go their way, while fans always find a way to forgive their club, even after the most unethical behaviour or terrible run of form. Hence, one imagines – or rather, fears – that the past twelve years of scandal and controversy will be totally forgotten once the first ball is kicked. If the organisers can ensure that the majority of games are competitive and exciting, and that the focus remains on the action on the pitch rather than off it, then Qatar’s attempt at sportswashing will have succeeded.
“The desire to make the national team a respectable footballing concern seems to show the organisers’ awareness of football’s capacity for overwhelming emotion.”
However, there is still a chance that the Qatar World Cup can be derailed, depending on the decision of the players. The protest by the Norwegian players in March shows that, at the very least, the players are not willing to simply let Qatar’s human rights abuses go unchecked. Of course, it will take a lot more than slogans on t-shirts to affect real change, but players like Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling are great examples of the modern football player as socially responsible, using their considerable influence to promote social causes such as free school dinners and anti-racism.
Some form of player boycott could be a crucial blow to the tournament. The absence of certain big names would undoubtedly reduce the appeal of the World Cup for both casual fans and hardcore ultras, and the competition could end up being dismissed as something of a write-off. Ironically, one of the few positives of the now-defunct European Super League was that a ban on Super League players from competing in FIFA competitions would have turned the Qatar World Cup into a complete farce.
It would be a touch unfair to expect players to withdraw from the World Cup without any hesitation, to give up the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in international football – something they have doubtlessly dreamed about from a very young age. However, their veto carries huge weight and may be the final opportunity to stop Qatar’s World Cup dream dead in its tracks. In the great debate surrounding the legitimacy of the 2022 World Cup, morality should win outright; ultimately, the players decide the result.
Bibliography
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Delaney, M. (2020, June 10).‘Sportswashing is not new – but has never been more insidious’. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/sportswashing-newcastle-takeover-latest-man-city-ffp-a9557241.html.
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