FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar The Good, the beautiful, the ugly
Javed Mohammed
Community Manager | Content Manager | Product Marketing Manager | ex-Oracle, ex-Veracode
I have been wanting to write this blog post since the beginning of the #fifaworldcup2022 in Qatar. There has been so much news, controversy as well as beautiful moments that I wanted to react to. It is impossible for one post or one person to do this justice. If for nothing else it is a way for me to reconcile what it means to American-Muslim. Let me start off with a disclaimer I don’t represent all 331+ Million Americans and for sure I don’t represent the 1.97 Billion Muslims spread out over 50 Muslim majority and 150 Muslim minority countries. This is just a personal take, and if you find something you agree with great, and if not just skip this. Also, I have no affiliation with #qatar , I have not been to it and truthfully before the World Cup, didn’t know like so many people where exactly it was or even have an opinion of it.?
It goes without saying that Mega-sports events like the Olympics and the FIFA #worldcup, are huge stages for sportsmen and women to converge on as well as the fans, the media and the rest of us who get to watch it on TV, online or listen or read about it with whatever our favorite viewing device is.?Thinking back to any of the more recent Olympics or World Cups each has had its fair share of criticism. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, there were accusations of racism in Russian football and discrimination against LGBT people in Russian society. In Brazil, they were criticized both for the World Cup and the Olympics. For the 2014 World Cup, Brazilians were unhappy with the huge sums of public money spent on the event, the walling off of the Favelas in the metro lines, and what would happen to the more remote stadiums after the event.?In addition to those, there were concerns about how polluted the bay of Rio de Janeiro where some of the outdoor waterspouts events were going to be held was. The list goes on about controversies and events in other cities and years.
Zooming out a little, we have to see that, especially for developing countries, holding a mega-sports event is a coming age of celebration, it says to the world “hey look we made it, we’re proud.” I don’t know about you but have you ever organized a large party, it could be a surprise party for your spouse or a wedding for your daughter, or a birthday party for your child. Even with the best of planning things will go wrong, so the last thing you want the guests or other people doing is calling out any shortcomings. So it is with these mega-events. Once a country has been selected, it is unfair to the host nation to be on the receiving end of unending criticism. That doesn’t mean they are above criticism, but as with all things, it should be fair. If we are going to call out others on any theme whether it be on worker rights, human rights, or social rights, we have to put it into perspective.?
One of the many criticisms of Qatar is they spent $220 Billion (that’s with a B) on this World Cup. That number has been often repeated in the press and social media. In previous world cups eg Russia was $11.6B, and Brazil was $15B.
I have been confounded as to how the costs could be two orders of magnitude greater for Qatar since the last World Cup. I reached out to some journalist friends, people in academia, and even the Qatari media contacts in the US embassy, but was not able to get any breakdown. The oft-quoted numbers have been stadiums, which are $6.5B, and the new airport $14B. They added a metro and hotels, but no more details.?Plus there are FIFA costs like prize money and marketing but it still doesn't add up. If anyone reading this has any insights please share them in the comments.
I do have some thoughts about the rights and wages of construction and other blue-collar workers. This goes beyond the mega-sports events and although the news was mainly about Qatar and the practice called the Kafala (sponsorship), a system that is a way to control migrant workers’ employment and immigration status. I must say I have no expertise in labor laws, but a couple of things stand out as an outside observer. If Qatar or any of the Gulf countries can afford to pay $220 Billion for a sporting event, they can for sure afford to pay the rightful wages of the laborers who helped make it happen. It is a human rights violation to take advantage of literally someone's sweat blood and tears and then deny them their rightful due as so many of their families are waiting on their remittances. I would like to advocate that just as we as a global society have started to hold corporations responsible for cheap labor whether that be farmers who cultivate cocoa or coffee beans to miners digging for diamonds to Sports and Apparel companies being held accountable to the people who assemble their wares, a similar thing could be done for these type of mega-events. We now have to some degree ethical fair trade and slave labor-free products and whether it be FIFA or the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the host countries there should be some accountability for these global events. Just because there is a chain of subcontractors no one should be left off the hook and pass the blame onwards. I strongly believe it is not an issue of money. If a host country can pay sports personalities upwards of $200M to promote or play in an event or as part of a team, they sure well can afford to pay a laborer their due. Relating to this most of these blue-collar workers only get to visit their families once every two years. Again for those who are married and or have children or aging parents, it is a travesty. They should have paid leave every 6 months. I don’t want to ramble on and on but that was a hot-button issue I wanted to air. For the rest of this post,?I am just going to list some highlights and lowlights of this World Cup.
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Criticisms
Most (but not all) of the mainstream media criticized the location (a tiny city-nation state that most of us had no idea where it was), the timing (winter not summer)
Lowlights
Highlights
This is where I would like to spend the most time on. It’s easy to be a critic, it’s much harder to produce and create.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has come to an end. Depending on who you were rooting for at each stage you may be happy or disappointed or even depressed. I am a sports fan, but I typically don’t watch soccer or football or fútbol, you know what I mean. However, no matter what the sport, professional sportsmen and women have the physical and mental ability to do what most of us can never do in real life. Some of these players can transcend the sport. They have power and beauty, they are gracious, and they are empathetic. You will have your own G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), and people will argue for end about who was the greatest. Remember there will be no singular answer.?From Pele to Muhammad Ali, Nadia Com?neci to Abby Wambach,?Maradonna to Messi, Michael Jordan to Serena Williams, and Rod Laver to Roger Federer, the names and list will vary. Just as with these larger-than-life characters we too will have our wins and losses. The Moroccan team lost in the Semi-finals but just as they did in their win they all prostrated toward Mecca. Sports can at least for a short time erase the barriers and boundaries that separate us.?
Of course, the World Cup brings on an energy and spirit which is very contagious, but what can we take away from it? For me, I am very excited about the sport, as the next venue is the Americas, specifically Canada, the United States (me and my family's home), and Mexico. Both from a cost and inclusively standpoint this is what I hope future venues will do, collaborate rather than compete to be hosts. Let’s allow these sporting events to bring out the best in us to be ambassadors not only for our countries and continents but ultimately, to be human ambassadors where generosity, respect, and forgiveness rule the day. Till the next World Cup, Adios, Auf Wiedersehen, Sayonara, Mae Alsalama, Khudah Hafiz, Au Revoir
Co-Founder & CEO
2 年Javed, beautifully written and great message! I am a soccer addict and Qatar World Cup was the best tournament I have seen thus far in terms of drama, soccer quality and respect between players. I also appreciate that the host nation was firm in saying, "when in Qatar, do as the Qataris do." And most people around the world respected that. For me, I understand and appreciate their culture and values a little bit more.
Marketing and Program Management professional
2 年Great write up Javed! You brought up some very interesting points. I also really liked your conversational writing style.
You hit the nail on its head perfectly. There are ?no sporting or cultural events without controversies which of course are all man made. In this world one cannot make everyone happy, but the cost of holding such a great event is something being questioned. But overall I strongly believe based on what I have watched, seen in videos and social media - it was a great success for a tiny country. Sports these day is business and more like corporate and capitalism. Personally for me - what Saudi causing the biggest upset against the eventual winner Argentina, Morocco winning the hearts and minds of many people, Mbappe playing like a beast and keeping the team competing, finally my favorite of all time Messi finally winning the World Cup and his skills, talents in check and bringing the best out of his teammates is what I will take. It’s sad to hear so many people sacrificing their life’s before and during the construction. Being a sports fanatic, I had to rearrange my schedule to watch these games, but at the end - the Finals was a thriller. I have followed Pele, Maradona since my childhood, Messi, Christiano Ronaldo since their childhood and now last 7 years from Mbappe. If sports does not bring integrity, humanity, laurels and thrills then I believe nothing will. Qatar - as host did a wonderful job and it’s hard to see anyone can beat this in our lifetime. Thanks Br Javed for sharing?