Money Defeats Human Rights at the FIFA World Cup

By Randa Zammam

Football is the most popular sport in the United States, with the Super Bowl attracting its record viewership of over 208 million fans.[1]  Compare that to the other football—the game Americans call soccer—which amassed over 3.57 billion viewers during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[2]  Predictions estimate the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will have attracted viewers from more than half of the globe’s population.[3]

American soccer coverage does not yet measure up to the hype felt elsewhere in the world, but it is catching up.  The success of the U.S. Women’s National Team has been credited with helping invigorate the American fanbase after winning the previous two Women’s World Cups.[4]  The furthest the U.S. Men’s National Team reached was third place at the inaugural Cup in 1930.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, simply known as FIFA, is the international governing body promising to develop soccer “for the benefit of the entire world” by pledging to make it “global, accessible, and inclusive.”[5]  Despite its good intentions, however, FIFA has been surrounded by controversy and corruption.  Among its growing fanbase around the world, many questions arose over FIFA’s decision to hold its quadrennial men’s World Cup tournament in Qatar.

Corruption within FIFA

Qatar won the hosting rights for this World Cup during an election at the FIFA Congress in 2010, making it the first Middle Eastern country to host while piquing suspicions among many who considered it a poor fit.[6]  This election—which also awarded hosting rights to Russia for the 2018 World Cup—became the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation into bribery and money laundering.[7]  The U.S. Department of Justice conducted its own separate investigation, initially following allegations that FOX Sports had bribed FIFA for exclusive broadcasting rights.[8]  Uncovering a larger pattern of corruption among FIFA officials led to over forty indictments for racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies.[9]  FIFA’s mission to reinvest its revenues to benefit worldwide soccer stakeholders had been exploited by its highest-ranking officials, who unlawfully enriched themselves by neglecting the game’s best interests in exchange for their own.[10]

Hosting the World Cup is an opportunity for a nation to gain global recognition, but it also invites widespread human rights abuses.  Qatar’s total expenditure for the tournament was estimated at around $220 billion; in comparison, Russia spent approximately $14.2 billion for the previous Cup.[11]  Following the money led FIFA to Qatar, whose government consistently placed profits over people in preparation for the most expensive World Cup in history.

Sportswashing Human Rights Abuses

Qatar has been accused of “sportswashing,” a term referring to the use of recreational sports competitions to normalize a government’s human rights abuses.  Famous examples include the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany and the 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina during its Dirty War.[12]  This time, Qatar’s own bloodshed came from the exploitation of its migrant workers.

This small peninsula in the Arabian Gulf is home to less than three million people, only about a tenth of whom are Qatari citizens.[13]  The population’s majority is comprised of foreign nationals who migrated to Qatar for work but have witnessed minimal improvements to labor laws in a country that boasts the fourth-highest gross domestic product (PPP) per capita.[14]  Most of the country’s wealth derives from its lucrative oil and natural gas reserves—sources of nonrenewable energy that contribute to the worsening climate crisis.[15]  Winning the right to host the World Cup further intensified unsustainable building practices, making it no surprise that Qatar is the highest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita at 35.59 tons per person.[16]  In comparison, the United States emits 14.68 tons per person and the global average is 4.69 tons.[17]  Qatar’s seven newly-built stadiums will likely never be used again; such was the fate of Brazil’s stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, which displaced almost 250,000 low-income residents during construction.[18]

Thousands of deaths have been attributed to miserable conditions while constructing these stadiums.[19]  Wage theft, squalid living quarters, and heat exhaustion were further exacerbated by the government’s prohibition against forming trade unions.[20]  The ability to strike and advocate for dignified working conditions is crucial in stamping out inherent inequalities between vulnerable workers and their wealthy employers.  FIFA was aware of this reality and accepted Qatar’s bid regardless, echoing a trend among wealthy companies that turn a profit by outsourcing jobs to countries without adequate labor laws.  They rescheduled the tournament’s usual dates to the winter to prevent players from suffering during Qatar’s extreme summer temperatures, yet no such consideration was given to those who built their stadiums.[21]  FIFA’s failure to fulfill its promise to recompensate workers after making billions of dollars in profit from the games is not an accident, but a reflection of their complicity with human rights abuses.[22]

Labor exploitation is not Qatar’s only offense; strict laws against the freedom of women’s movement and same-sex relationships threatened the potential safety of thousands of visiting spectators.[23]  Rape and sexual assault laws are unenforceable, often subjecting those who report such acts to criminal proceedings themselves.[24]  Freedom of expression was further curtailed by FIFA, who threatened players with sanctions if they dared to wear armbands showing solidarity with the LGBTQ community.[25]  Grant Wahl, an American soccer journalist who tragically died of an aneurysm while covering the World Cup, went viral on social media after getting banned from a match for wearing a rainbow shirt.[26]

FIFA discriminated against their own fans and employees by allowing their largest event to be bought by a government that fails to protect basic human rights.  Sports are not neutral to human rights abuses, and “sportswashing” does not happen without international support.  This lack of accountability is exaggerated by the fact that Qatar is currently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Bad actors don’t need to play by the rules when they can afford to pay off the referees.

On the other hand, not all the controversies surrounding Qatar’s World Cup hold merit.  For example, banning alcohol sales within the stadiums did not violate anyone’s human rights.  In fact, France made a similar decision following violence between fans during the 2016 Euro Cup.[27]  Alcohol consumption is haram in Islam, Qatar’s official religion.  Critics can denounce it for infringing on one’s freedom of religion, but it is no different from using religious morality to deny people other drugs.[28]  Qatar also received unwarranted media backlash for offering Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi a traditional Arab cloak—a symbol of respect—after his team won the final.[29]  Though antiquated traditions are sometimes used to rationalize discrimination, it is important not to unfairly judge different cultures through an orientalist lens.

Hosting the World Cup put a new spotlight on the Middle East, a region whose rich culture and history are often overshadowed by political conflicts and violence.  But Qatar is hardly the pinnacle of Arab representation: this small country, built mostly in the last twenty years by exploited labor, rivals Saudi Arabia in efforts to assert despotic dominance in the region through its controversial, state-owned Al-Jazeera Media Network.[30]  Arguably, Morocco’s historic finish as the first Arab and African semi-finalist at the World Cup evoked greater pride throughout the region than hosting the game in an oil-rich country could.[31]

Future Impact

As soccer viewership increases throughout the world, so does its impact.  The next World Cup in 2026 will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico while expanding the number of participating teams from thirty-two to forty-eight nations.[32]  FIFA has an opportunity to learn from its failures and use its impact to help its stakeholders, rather than enrich its shareholders.

It is easier to point to human rights abuses in other countries than to address one’s own.  The United States has shared in the exploitation of migrant workers and curtailing women’s freedoms.[33]  As one of the upcoming hosts, the United States will open its doors to thousands of soccer fans and tourists from around the world.  Yet at the same time, asylum-seekers trying to gain entry from poorer nations are often detained and subjected to inhumane treatment or trafficking.[34]  Sports journalists who rightly criticized Qatar should not turn a blind eye to the human rights crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border.[35]  Hosting the World Cup can be both an honor and a burden when the entire world is watching.

 

 

 

[1] Super Bowl LVI total viewing audience estimated at over 208 million, The NFL (Mar. 1, 2022), https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lvi-total-viewing-audience-estimated-at-over-208-million.

[2] Media Release, FIFA, 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia^TM: Global Broadcast and Audience Summary (Dec. 21, 2018), https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2589b77c20849beb/original/njqsntrvdvqv8ho1dag5-pdf.pdf.

[3] Leela de Kretser, Qatar’s World Cup audience projected to be 5 billion: FIFA boss, Reuters (May 23, 2022), https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/davos-davos-qatars-world-cup-audience-projected-be-5-billion-fifa-boss-2022-05-23/.

[4] Paul Wulfsburg, Soccer soars in the United States, ShareAmerica (Nov. 17, 2022), https://share.america.gov/soccer-soars-united-states/#:~:text=Thirty%2Done%20percent%20of%20Americans,their%20favorite%20sport%20increased%20sevenfold.

[5] FIFA, https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa (last visited Dec. 21, 2022).

[6] Ian Ward, The many, many controversies surrounding the 2022 World Cup, explained, Vox (Nov. 19, 2022), https://www.vox.com/world/23450515/world-cup-fifa-qatar-2022-controversy-scandals-explained.

[7] Press Release, Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland seizes documents at FIFA (May 27, 2015), https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-57391.html.

[8] Matthew Yglesias & Joseph Stromberg, FIFA’s huge corruption and bribery scandal, explained, Vox (June 3, 2015), https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/8665577/fifa-arrests-indictment.

[9] Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice, Sixteen Additional FIFA Officials Indicted for Racketeering Conspiracy and Corruption (Dec. 13, 2015), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/sixteen-additional-fifa-officials-indicted-racketeering-conspiracy-and-corruption.

[10] Tariq Panja & Kevin Draper, U.S. Says FIFA Officials Were Bribed to Award World Cups to Russia and Qatar, The New York Times (Dec. 18, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/sports/soccer/qatar-and-russia-bribery-world-cup-fifa.html.

[11] Matt Craig, The Money Behind The Most Expensive World Cup In History: Qatar 2022 By The Numbers, Forbes (Nov. 19, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2022/11/19/the-money-behind-the-most-expensive-world-cup-in-history-qatar-2022-by-the-numbers/?sh=3aa0a64dbff5.

[12] Ken Bensinger, When Argentina Used World Cup Soccer to Whitewash Its Dirty War, History (Aug. 22, 2018), https://www.history.com/news/world-cup-soccer-argentina-1978-dirty-war.

[13] Tom Dart, How many migrant workers have died in Qatar, The Guardian (Nov. 27, 2022), https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/27/qatar-deaths-how-many-migrant-workers-died-world-cup-number-toll.

[14] The World Bank (2021), https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true.

[15] Press Release, United Nations Environment Programme, Inadequate progress on climate action makes rapid transformation of societies only option (Oct. 27, 2022), https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/inadequate-progress-climate-action-makes-rapid-transformation.

[16] Hannah Ritchie, Where in the world do people emit the most CO2, Our World in Data (updated Feb 9, 2022), https://ourworldindata.org/per-capita-co2.

[17] Id.

[18] Donna Bowater, For some in Brazil, World Cup means evictions, The Washington Post (Jan. 25, 2014), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/for-some-in-brazil-world-cup-means-evictions/2014/01/24/73799036-7f83-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_4.

[19] Dart, supra note 12.

[20] Zack Beauchamp, The World Cup’s biggest issue: modern slavery and dead workers, Vox (May 27, 2015), https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/8672947/fifa-qatar-scandal-human-rights.

[21] Id.

[22] FIFA misleading world on remedy for migrant workers, Amnesty International (Dec. 12, 2022), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/12/fifa-misleading-world-on-remedy-for-migrant-workers/

[23] Amnesty International: Qatar (2021) https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar/report-qatar/

[24] Albinson Linares, A Mexican woman reported an assault in Qatar. She faces jail, 100 lashes, NBC News (Feb. 23, 2022), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mexican-woman-reported-sexual-assault-qatar-faces-jail-100-lashes-rcna17217.

[25] Qatar: FIFA fails to uphold importance of human rights and equality as players face threats of sanctioning, Amnesty International (Nov. 21, 2022), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/11/qatar-fifa-fails-to-uphold-importance-of-human-rights-and-equality-as-players-face-threats-of-sanctioning/.

[26] Grant Wahl, An Unexpected Detention by World Cup Security, Substack (Nov. 21, 2022), https://grantwahl.substack.com/p/an-unexpected-detention-by-world.

[27] Sally Guyoncourt, Euro 2016: France bans alcohol near match venues after violence between England and Russia fans, The Independent (June 12, 2016), https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/euro-2016-french-government-bans-alcohol-near-match-venues-after-violence-between-england-and-russia-fans-a7078521.html.

[28] See Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. 573 U.S. 682, 690 (2014).

[29] Ben Church, Reaction to Lionel Messi wearing a bisht, CNN (Dec. 19, 2022), https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/football/lionel-messi-bisht-world-cup-trophy-lift-spt-intl/index.html.

[30] Paul Farhi, Mideast journalists allege bias in al-Jazeera’s reports on Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, The Washington Post (July 8, 2013), https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mideast-journalists-allege-bias-in-al-jazeeras-reporting-on-morsi-and-muslim-brotherhood/2013/07/08/9166c364-e80e-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html.

[31] Don Riddell & Celine Alkhaldi, How Morocco’s unlikely World Cup success unified Arabs, CNN (Dec. 14, 2022), https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/football/morocco-fifa-soccer-world-cup-mime-spt-intl/index.html.

[32] Press Release, FIFA, Unanimous decision expands FIFA World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 (Jan. 10, 2017), https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-unanimously-decides-on-expansion-of-the-fifa-world-cuptm–2863100.

[33] Press Release, United Nations OHCHR, UN experts denounce Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade (June 24, 2022), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/06/usa-un-experts-denounce-supreme-court-decision-strike-down-roe-v-wade-urge.

[34] Charlotte Klein, White House Condemns Greg Abbott Over Yet Another Migrant Stunt, Vanity Fair (Dec. 26, 2022), https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/kamala-harris-migrant-buses.

[35] Mexico: Asylum Seekers Face Abuses at Southern Border, Human Right Watch (June 6, 2022), https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/06/mexico-asylum-seekers-face-abuses-southern-border.