The decision to host Qatar in the 2022 World Cup has been marred by controversy, including allegations of corruption and human rights violations, since it was first announced 12 years ago.
FIFA chose the Middle Eastern country in 2010, with the understanding that it would be held during the summer, when temperatures exceed 40ºC.
In 2015, FIFA recommended that Qatar host a shorter World Cup and in the coldest months (November and December), in a move that put the entity on a collision course with the main European leagues.
The move to winter in the northern hemisphere marked the first time the World Cup has moved out of its regular period, in the months of June and July, when Europe’s lucrative domestic leagues have concluded their seasons.
Leagues will pause their 2022-23 campaigns to allow players to compete in the World Cup, which runs from November 20 to December 18.
suspicions of corruption
Organizers of the 2022 World Cup have vehemently denied allegations by the US Department of Justice that bribes were paid to secure votes when the host country’s decision was made.
Suspicions and rumors have long surrounded FIFA’s votes in 2010, both to hand over the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. Prosecutors made formal allegations about both competitions in a 2020 indictment.
Qatar’s Supreme Delivery and Legacy Committee — which is responsible for delivering the necessary infrastructure and host country planning and operations — has rejected these allegations.
Qatar 2022 CEO Nasser Al Khater, with just a year to go before the tournament, said that Qatar had been “unfairly treated and scrutinized” for a number of years.
migrant workers
The country has faced intense criticism from human rights groups over its treatment of migrant workers, who, along with other foreigners, make up the bulk of the country’s population.
A 48-page report by Amnesty International called “Reality Check 2021” said practices such as withholding wages and forcing workers to change jobs were still rife despite labor reforms in 2014.
The Qatari government said its labor system was still evolving, but denied allegations that thousands of migrant workers were being arrested and exploited.
Amnesty and other human rights groups have spearheaded calls for FIFA to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for human rights abuses, setting aside US$440 million (approximately R$2.4 billion) for this purpose — which is the sum of the entity awards.
Football associations from ten European nations, including England and Germany, have pressed FIFA to take steps to improve the rights of migrant workers in Qatar.
The organization has written to World Cup teams urging them to focus on football in Qatar and not let the sport be drawn into ideological or political battles.
LGBTQIA+ and women
Homosexuality is illegal in the conservative Muslim country, and some football players have raised concerns about fans traveling to the event, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and women — who, according to human rights groups, are discriminated against by laws of the host country of the Cup.
World Cup organizers, however, have repeatedly said that everyone, no matter their sexual orientation or origin, is welcome to attend the tournament.
With less than two weeks to go before the finals, Khalid Salman, a Qatari World Cup ambassador and former national team player, told German broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was a “mental illness”.
He added that the country expects more than a million visitors for the World Cup and anyone coming to Qatar for the tournament must “accept our rules here”.
Australia’s national football team has spoken out against Qatar over the country’s lack of human rights and measures against same-sex relationships. Denmark’s players will travel to the tournament without their families as a way of protesting the lack of human rights.
drink control
The Qatar World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country, which has strict controls on alcohol, presenting challenges for organizers as it is an event sponsored by a beer brand and often associated with beer fans.
The country will allow fans with tickets to buy beer at games, respecting certain times: the sale will start three hours before the ball rolls and for an hour after the game ends, but not during games.
They will also have areas for drunk fans to sober up. Event CEO Nasser Al Khater said the move was to make sure fans were safe and not harmful to others or themselves.
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