Skip to main content
Football's blinkered vision
Qatar’s Stadium 974

REGARDING Qatar, why is it that people are unwilling to look beyond the World Cup?
 
Organisers Fifa are only concerned with the welfare of overseas labourers involved in building the World Cup infrastructure and LGBT visitors during the tournament itself — they offer only lip service for what goes on in Qatar the rest of the time. 

The threat of sanctions dependent on improvements has always been a no-no — there never was a chance of Fifa withdrawing the tournament from Qatar once the time-honoured brown envelopes had been dished out to football’s pampered bigwigs during the bidding process.

Fifa and governments have expressed some concerns about fans visiting the Gulf state, but have never taken a stand on the regime’s treatment of its own people or migrant workers, instead pointing to tiny incremental improvements made by the Qatari government headed by the emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani,  as if they were triumphs in a  battle with some mighty unseen stumbling block. 

Support the Morning Star
You can read five articles for free every month,
but please consider supporting us by becoming a subscriber.
Liberation webinar, 30 November2024, 6pm (UK)
More from this author
Netherland's Annemiek van Vleuten on her way to winning Gold
Women's Cycling / 7 May 2023
7 May 2023
Hassan Pasha
Chess / 10 April 2023
10 April 2023
Former England Footballer Stuart Pearce sits at a VAR statio
Opinion / 13 February 2023
13 February 2023
world chess champion Magnus Carlsen speaking during the FIDE
Sport / 9 September 2022
9 September 2022
Similar stories
31/03/22 of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino
Sportswashing / 24 January 2025
24 January 2025
Infantino cosies up to Trump as Disunited States become Fifa's latest problematic World Cup host, writes JAMES NALTON
Russia world cup
Men’s football / 27 June 2024
27 June 2024