The ugly side of the “beautiful game” is on display in Qatar.
Even those who don’t follow soccer have probably noticed that something feels amiss about this year’s World Cup. For one, the world’s largest sporting event has always taken place in the summer. That it’s being played in mid-November is only one of the controversies that have engulfed the tournament.
Here’s a primer on the scandals overshadowing the “beautiful game” — and a quick look at Team USA’s long odds in Qatar.
Wait, why is the World Cup being played in the winter?
It all goes back to 2010, when FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, convened to choose the host of the 2022 World Cup. Qatar — a country that’s never qualified for the tournament, didn’t have the infrastructure to support an event of this scale, and whose summers are too brutal for 90 minutes of outdoor soccer — was considered a longshot.
Many say bribery is how the nation won over the likes of Japan, Australia, and the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice and FIFA have said that officials were paid to swing the vote to Qatar, though Qatari officials continue to deny this claim. When the decision was made, FIFA officials had no choice but to move the tournament from its normal June-to-July slot to November.
Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s former president, told a Swiss newspaper this month that awarding Qatar the World Cup was a “mistake.”
“The choice was bad,” he said, because the nation is just too small. He also told the paper that the executive committee was in agreement, at the time, that the 2022 World Cup should be played in the U.S.
What other controversies surround the tournament?
In order to host this massive global event, Qatar relied heavily on the labor of thousands of migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, and other South Asian countries. They needed to build stadiums, roads, hotels, a public transit system, and more to accommodate the estimated 200,000 fans expected to attend games.
According to an investigation by the Guardian, at least 6,500 of these laborers — many of them young — have died in Qatar since it won its bid in 2010. Tournament organizers, however, have said that there have been only three work-related deaths and 37 non-work related casualties.
There’s also plenty of concern about Qatar’s human rights record. Same-sex intercourse is outlawed in the country, and although tournament officials have said that LGBTQ fans attending the games will be welcomed and safe, local gay activists aren’t so sure. Captains from England, Germany, the Netherlands, and other European nations had planned to wear rainbow armbands to show support for LGBTQ rights, but changed course after FIFA said any player doing so would be issued a yellow card.
The country has also in the past been hostile to journalists, and at least one World Cup reporter has been bullied off the air during a broadcast. (He was reportedly physically pushed off the air by private security guards.) Activists are accusing Qatar of using the event to “sportswash” — a term used to describe attempts by repressive governments to burnish their international reputations via holding competitions like these, Vox explains.
Plus, this typically boozy event will be mostly dry this year: It’s illegal to be seen drunk in public in Qatar, but in September, World Cup officials assured fans that they’d be able to buy beer at games. However, two days before the opening match, FIFA confirmed that no alcohol would be sold at stadiums.
Despite getting a win in the opening match, these Ecuadorean fans weren’t too happy about that:
How does the U.S. Men’s National Team stack up this World Cup?
In international soccer, the U.S. has always been an underdog and this year’s no different. But after failing to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia, the 2022 squad is packed with young talent. (Team USA is the second youngest in competition, with an average age of just 25.) And many believe this roster represents a golden generation of American stars — many of whom are competing at the highest levels in European soccer leagues.
There’s Christian Pulisic, 24, called our “Captain America,” who plays for English Premier League heavyweight, Chelsea. And Weston McKennie, 24, a versatile midfielder, who’s playing for the Italian giant Juventus, Sergino Dest, 22, now with AC Milan, and a number of other gifted players. The question is whether their youth and lack of experience will cost them.
For the uninitiated, here’s how the tournament is structured: Thirty-two teams qualify and are sorted into eight groups. Two teams from each group advance to the next round. The U.S. is in Group B with England, Iran, and Wales. At the start of the tournament, the Americans were expected to advance behind England, but their 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday means making it out of the group will be tricky. They’ll almost certainly need a win in their next two games — either against a very strong English squad on Friday or against Iran on Nov. 29. For more, you’ll need to stay tuned…
