Why the Qatar Football World Cup could be a huge success

The Qatar World Cup has been heavily questioned, and it is a controversial topic of whether Qatar should be allowed to host the Football World Cup. Issues such as human rights violations, strict Shariah Law and the consequent poor fan experience all suggest that Qatar shouldn’t host the tournament. However, while this is true, there are many possible benefits to Qatar hosting the World Cup.

Qatar has had many problems in the build-up to the World Cup concerning forced labour. However, this has been a problem in Qatar anyway, but the World Cup has accentuated the problem. By going to Qatar, the huge increase in media attention and broadcasting should shine light upon the problems fully as well as helping to try an alleviate these issues. There are also strong laws on homosexuality in Qatar due to the Shariah based law. Players and teams have already expressed that they will try to raise awareness during the tournament. For example, England captain Harry Kane has already said he will wear a rainbow-coloured armband for this purpose.

Qatar has strict laws on drinking and drug abuse. It has been criticized for the lack of drinking due to its possible hindrance of enjoyment for the fans. While this may be true, most violence and misbehaviour at big football events are linked to the consumption of drugs and alcohol. This means invariably that there should be a decrease in violent occurrences. A good example of this was the Euros in 2021, where at the final an estimated 8,000 ticketless fans stormed into Wembley through multiple security breaches as well as a huge amount of property damage in the area. A lot of this violence could be linked to alcohol consumption and substance abuse. The strict laws in Qatar relating to substance abuse where long custodial sentences can be emplaced as well as a strict non-drinking culture due to Shariah law will cause less consumption of these substances. This is expected to reduce violent outbreaks as people who are abusing substances that are prohibited are more likely to face harsher punishments. This deterrence will act in favour of the safety of the fans and cause less violent incidents.

A positive all countries see when they host a major global sporting events is the increase in participation of sport in their country due to the sudden increase in interest. Not only participation will increase but, also spectatorship. As well as this, football itself will take gains as inevitably the football set-up in Qatar will improve, bringing more elite professionals which will then

create role models for those looking to get involved. By taking football to a country where football is not so popular, the World Cup will have a greater impact than it might have done in a country where football is already a very large phenomenon. Therefore, one could argue that giving the World Cup to a country in the Middle East could be a positive decision for football and the population there as it gives incentive for the sport to grow in a region of the world where football is not notoriously big.

By Arthur B and Kemal U (L6)