My moral dilemma ahead of Qatar 2022

The 2022 World Cup gets underway tomorrow when hosts Qatar take on Ecuador in the biggest day of the Gulf nation’s history.

On paper, it is a kind opener for the hosts who have European giants Netherlands and potential dark horses Senegal in their group.

While it is sure to be a grand occasion at the Al Bayt Stadium with 60,000 people set to pack out the newly built venue to witness the start of the greatest festival of football in the world, a dark cloud continues to loom over the whole affair.

To say that Qatar has a spotty human rights record is something of an understatement. The rich nation has traditionally been heavily dependent on migrant workers thanks to the kafala system. The Council of Foreign Relations outlined the system as a state giving individuals or companies permits to employ foreign labour, though they must cover travel expenses and provide accommodation.

According to the CFR, this leaves the migrant worker completely in the hands of their sponsor, shutting them off from being able to join a union, locking them out of any sort of labour dispute process and even the ability to freely transfer jobs or leave the country.

The Guardian reported this week that the Qatari state has failed to investigate potentially thousands of migrant worker deaths, simply attributing the deaths to ‘natural causes’, with the same report stating that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal Bangladesh and Sri Lanka died in Qatar between 2010 and 2021.

Qatar officially abolished the kafala system in 2020, introducing a minimum wage for migrant workers and taking their legal status out of the hands of employers. Even with the system now being abolished, so much of the construction work for the tournament benefitted from it that the identity of the 2022 World Cup is now inextricably tied to it.

Then there is the other heavily criticised aspect of Qatari human rights laws, that being that homosexuality is illegal in the country.

Articles 281 and 284 of Penal Code 2004 outlaw homosexuality for women and men respectively in the country, allowing for up to seven years imprisonment for homosexual couples. The I also reported in October that Qatari police used a dating app to entrap and sexually abuse a gay man.

For those that were not aware, I am bisexual. If I went to the World Cup in person, I would either have to hide who I am or face potential imprisonment. I am still struggling to decide if I am comfortable watching and supporting the tournament, even in a small way.

The last World Cup was huge for me. It was the first time I had really focused on reporting; with the articles I wrote forming my portfolio that got me into university. Seeing England reach the semi-finals and being wrapped up in the enthusiasm was amazing, everything just seemed perfect. I want to have that again, but everything around the tournament makes it difficult to get excited.

It is true that whether or not I watch the tournament makes absolutely no difference to the bottom line, so if I want to watch the matches then I should feel free to do so. However, this misses the mark.

Football in 2022 is a business. It is absolutely controlled by money and if fans want anything to change, the only thing they can do is vote with their wallet. Whether it is overpriced match tickets or an unpopular set of owners that fans want to protest against, the most effective way of making themselves heard is through money.

Therefore, if I want to make any sort of point, the only way I can make it is by not supporting the tournament at all. I will miss out on the great experience I had watching and writing about the last World Cup, but I cannot in good faith support this World Cup.

Here’s hoping the tournament is worth it.