Soccer in the U.S. goes largely unnoticed in comparison to professional and college football, basketball, and baseball, until the World Cup comes around every four years.
This year, the FIFA World Cup is being held from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 in Qatar, which has proven to be controversial, with allegations of corruption being made. One of, if not the, most controversial aspects of the location of the tournament is that Qatar does not support the LGBTQ+ community, as evidenced by the anti-gay laws in place. People all over the world have taken to boycotting the World Cup for this reason by choosing not to view it, in the hopes that revenue will take a sharp downturn if enough people refuse to watch it.
Another aspect of the World Cup that people are protesting is the abusive labor systems employed to build the stadiums and the general infrastructure the tournament requires. Approximately 6,500 migrant workers have died during the construction period, and activists and teams performing in the tournament are protesting in different ways. Denmark’s soccer team has opted to wear black jerseys in memory of those who died, soccer fans in Germany have held huge banners denouncing the exploitative nature of the labor involved in the production of the stadiums, and major cities in France, such as Bordeaux, Paris, Strasbourg, and others, have opted not to stream the games in major fanbase areas for public viewing.
The choice for Qatar to host the World Cup was made in 2010 and has been disputed and argued since its announcement; the country’s government, as well as its travel and hotel sectors, will benefit greatly from the 32-team tournament being hosted in the country. More than 220 billion USD’s worth of infrastructure, including hotels, airport extensions, public transportation, and several stadiums, have been built since the decision was made 12 years ago. An estimate determines that roughly 1.2 million people will make accommodations to travel to Qatar for the tournament, and billions more will be watching on their own televisions at home. The combination of all these factors suggest a probable revenue of $6 billion from this year’s World Cup events.
Behind all of the miraculous benefits that Qatar will receive are more than 6,500 migrant worker deaths that the Human Rights Watch has accused FIFA of being responsible for. This year, Human Rights Watch and other labor unions have brought forth a campaign which aims to provide financial compensation to the victims’ families.
Known for constraining the freedom of the LGBTQ+ community, Qatar law requires punishment of up to 10 years if two consenting adults are found to be in a homosexual relationship. Qatari security forces have also divulged that detained transgender women are subject to conversion therapy.
As a show of solidarity, several European team captains, such as players from the Netherlands, England, and Germany, will wear armbands with a rainbow heart in an effort to promote anti-discrimination, and the U.S. team will display the rainbow-themed logo inside their training center and newsroom throughout the tournament.