Why I Will Not Watch the World Cup

World Cup is an event that brings people all over the world like no other. People get to spend time with their friends and family watching a sport that promotes teamwork, dedication, and superb skill. Sport can unite and inspire strangers and give off so many positive emotions, which we all need, especially now. With the political divide across the globe, the unyielding Yemen Civil War, the Syrian Civil War, the War in Ukraine, the Pakistan flooding, the Nigeria flooding, the COVID pandemic deaths and lockdown, the tech layoffs, the global recession and rise of inflation, we have so many reasons to shut off the negatives and take in the joy of the World Cup. It is also the last World Cup for the two greatest players of their generation, the greatest ever in my opinion, Ronaldo and Messi. And there are all the other teams stacked with talent, who are playing in the middle of their season and not at the end when everyone is knackered and injured.

Why would I pass on all this? Because it will not bring me joy. The joy from watching for me will be less than the guilt and disappointment with supporting this event in Qatar. I must draw the line somewhere. To me supporting the World Cup in Qatar is supporting FIFA, one of the most corrupt organizations in the world. Qatar should never have been awarded this World Cup, according to FIFA’s own former president had stated. Of course, back deals and bribery is how all the other World Cups had been decided. But none of the previous host nations, not even Russia, had as horrible human rights record as Qatar. The fact is Qatar runs a slavery labor system that essentially supports human trafficking. Many of those trafficked built the soccer stadiums where the World Cup will be played. Over 6,500 workers have died building those stadiums.

And what do we see happening in Qatar now? Even during the World Cup, international journalists are being harassed and threatened, and you can imagine what free press is like when the World Cup spotlight is no longer on Qatar. Qatar’s World Cup ambassador said disparaging things about the LGBT community, though they had promised there would be no harassment. Even the holiest of the holies for FIFA, selling beer at the stadiums, has been reversed last minute by Qatar.

And most importantly, as a security and privacy professional, I cannot condone the invasion of privacy and the huge security risk posed by Qatar, when it enforced the installation of two apps for all incoming tourists. It is essentially spyware that allows Qatar to monitor anything on any user’s phone, and there are also concerns they could make changes to the phones as well. I am not on board with this, as this is a horrible precedent. If this is allowed to stand, we will likely see similar privacy-invasive and security-exploitative apps being forced upon every visitor to every country. Even France, who was the reason Qatar is hosting this World Cup, has told its citizens to bring burner phones to Qatar.

Instead of watching the World Cup, I will be kicking the soccer ball with friends when I can, rolling Dungeons and Dragons dice, and spending more time with family. I am now finding an additional benefit to working remotely—I will not be able to overhear “watercooler” World Cup conversations.

Will the World Cup bring you joy? Or will you skip it as well? Please comment below. And either way, be happy and spread your joy.