Top 8 Controversial Facts about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

FIFA World Cup 2022 Mascot – by Mahtab Mehedi – Wikimedia Commons

Top 8 Controversial Facts about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

The Fifa World Cup, commonly called “the World Cup,” has been a quadrennial event since its creation in 1930. However, the event didn’t happen in 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. 

 In total, 79 national teams have competed throughout 92 years of the event, and 17 countries have hosted the event, but only France, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and Germany have hosted it twice.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the 22nd competition in the history of the tournament. It will Kick-off on November 20th in Qatar, with 32 teams members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that will play the competition in a 4 weeks tournament with 64 games. According to the Organizing Committee, an estimated 1.5 million people will be in the country for the tournament.

 Since the announcement of the World Cup in Qatar in 2010 – which made the country the first Arab nation to host the tournament- it has been involved in many discussions. But before we see the Controversies about the World Cup, we should understand more about the host country. 

  About Qatar

Doha skyline in the morning – by Francisco Anzola – Wikimedia Commons

 Located between the sea (Persian Gulf) and the desert (Khor Al Udeid Desert), the country’s geographical position provides unique and diverse landscapes. The official language is Arabic, with Qatari Arabic as the local dialect, but English is commonly used as a second language. Its official religion is Islam.

Doha is the capital and home to over 80% of the nation’s population. Qatar is the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas. In 1940, Oil was discovered in Qatar in Dukhan Field, transforming the state’s economy. The country has the fourth-highest GDP per capita in the world. Now, the country’s legal citizens have a high standard of living with no income tax, and Qatar (along with Bahrain) is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates in the world. 

Football and cricket are among the most popular sports in Qatar, both in terms of players and spectators. The Qatar Football Association became affiliated with FIFA in 1970, and one of the country’s earliest international accolades came in 1981 when the Qatar national under-20 team emerged as runners-up to West Germany in that year’s edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship after being defeated 4–0 in the final. 

Now that we know more about the country let’s find out the top 8 Controversial Facts about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

LGBTQIA+ rights

Based on Islamic Law Sharia, homosexuality is illegal, as is same-sex marriage or even campaigning for LGBTQIA+ rights. So-called ‘sodomy’ between men can lead to imprisonment of up to three years and the possibility of the death penalty. However, there is no record of the maximum penalty being executed. 

Despite warnings against public displays of affection, The organizers of the World Cup pointed out that everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or origin, is welcome. FIFA has announced that flags will be allowed inside the stadiums and at official parties, called “FIFA Fun Fest.”

Climate

SUMMER, welcome back – By x_outlandish_x from Qatar – Wikimedia Commons

The 2022 World Cup is the first in history to happen in a different period of the year. Its schedule has been changed to November and December due to the intense heat in Qatar.

In June and July, when the event usually takes place, the thermometers exceed 50ºC, which makes playing football almost impossible. However, even with the date change, the stadiums will be air-conditioned.

Freedom of speech 

Image by Drazen Zigic – Freepik

The Qatar authorities enforce harsh restrictions on the local media, including censoring internet services and outlawing criticism of the ruling family in the media.

A cyber law passed in late September 2014 severely limited free speech and free expression rights, granting the government and authorities the ability to punish “content that can harm the country” with imprisonment of up to 3 years and fines of around 500,000 rials.

The law states that the authority can, in each case, judge whether the content is appropriate. However, no guidelines or references are available to say what kind of content is allowed.

Women’s right

J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!”, also called “Rosie the Riveter” after the iconic figure of a strong female war production worker. – by J. Howard Miller, restored by: Adam Cuerden – Wikimedia Commons

In Qatar, Women’s right is also a delicate subject. Women can face the penalty of flagellation and a seven-year sentence if they are convicted of having sex outside of marriage.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that women in Qatar need to receive permission from their ‘male guardians’ to marry, study abroad on government scholarships, work in many government jobs, or even travel abroad until a certain age. The discriminatory system denies women the authority to act as primary guardians of their children, even when they are already divorced and have legal custody. 

A growing wage gap affects both Qatari and non-Qatari women; they are paid 25% to 50% less than men, even though their working hours are comparable. The opening is partly due to social allotments granted by the government to men as heads of households (such as housing and travel allotments) that female workers are less likely to receive.

Despite all that, Qatar is a safe place for foreign women, and it should be easy to book tickets, a hotel, and rent a car in the country during the competition.

Drinking

Image by bridgesward from Pixabay

In Qatar, the sale and consumption of alcohol in public places are prohibited. Walking down the street and appearing drunk is liable to be stopped by the police, and driving under the influence of alcohol is considered intolerable. These rules are based on “sharia,” the law in force in many countries with a predominantly Muslim population.

Bars and nightclubs inside large hotels in the Qatari capital are usually licensed to sell alcohol. The regulars are almost always foreign residents – who make up more than 85% of the country’s population – or tourists. The country has only one licensed liquor distributor and allows controlled access to those who want to buy and consume at home. Fans traveling to the World Cup will be prohibited from carrying alcoholic beverages in their suitcases and also from buying from this only store in the country. 

Cost

Image by Tom from Pixabay

The Qatar 2022 is the most expensive world cup tournament in history. The cost to hold the Qatar World Cup 2022 will be around $200 billion. In addition, the winning team will receive US$ 42 million, a prize that has never been seen before. Also, Fifa will pay more than R$ 2 billion in prizes in the tournament in Qatar.

The values are high because of the construction of football stadiums, training centers, infrastructure for the host country, and metro stations. Furthermore, the government built an entirely new city to host the final match. In addition, there were seven stadiums, more than 100 new hotels, a subway, and new roads. 

Workers 

Man using an angle grinder – by Frans van Heerden – Pexels

The Qatari government has been accused of human rights violations during construction work to build the infrastructure needed to host the World Cup. In 2016, the human rights group Amnesty International accused the country of using forced labor, claiming that many workers were living in substandard accommodations, paying high recruitment fees, and having wages withheld and passports confiscated.

Since 2017, the Qatari government has introduced measures to improve working conditions, such as protection from excessive heat, working hours limits, and working conditions in worker camps. In addition, the government passed new legislation designed to benefit migrant workers and introduced a law for domestic workers that established a support and insurance fund for workers.

Corruption

Shaking hands with euro banknotes hidden in the hands – by Kiwiev – Wikimedia Commons

Since its announcement as the World cup host country, Qatar has been accused of corruption involving members of FIFA’s executive committee.

In 2011, former FIFA vice president Jack Warner published emails claiming that Qatar – specifically AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam – had “bought” the support of soccer officials for their bid to host the Cup.

Qatari authorities have denied all wrongdoing. In 2014, FIFA, headed by Sepp Blatter, cleared the country of the alleged irregularities. However, in 2015, Blatter resigned from his post amid a criminal investigation by Swiss authorities into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

FIFA  appointed a German judge Hans Joachim Eckert who presented a report that cleared Qatar of bribery allegations and stated that Qatar “pulled Aspire into the orbit of the bid in significant ways” but did not “compromise the integrity” of the overall bid process.