Sporus Phae Inçledon

Phoebe Reast-Jones

This year, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is being held in Qatar, spanning across approximately a month (20th November – 18th December) and costing an estimated $220 billion. However, this tournament has much more than an economic impact, especially when considering both the environmental and social controversies surrounding this event.

Qatar itself is a small country situated in Western Asia bordering Saudi Arabia to the South as well as the Persian Gulf which surrounds around 80% of the country. It won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup in 2010 and since then many huge issues have come to light.

Regarding specifically the tournament itself, many questions have been raised regarding both environmental concerns and issues regarding human rights abuse. Qatar has been heavily criticised for its reliance on low-wage migrant workers in preparation for the tournament, who have been bound to work through an incredibly coercive labour system known as Kafala, often without them knowing just how legally binding the contracts they are agreeing to are. Furthermore, since 2010, throughout preparations for the tournament, it is suggested that thousands of workers have died (exact numbers are impossible track due to Qatar’s secrecy regarding human rights) and many more have come forward to Amnesty International about abuse ranging from wage theft and dangerous working/living conditions to physical and, in some cases, sexual abuse. This clear record of violations of the workers’ most basic human rights whilst constructing spaces for the World Cup has been heavily criticised by many NGOs and begs the question of why FIFA, who will be well aware of such disgusting actions, have allowed it to go ahead?

In addition, many environmentalists have huge concerns regarding the carbon emissions of this project and FIFA’s apparent desire to hide them. According to the association itself, the estimated carbon footprint of the whole event sits at 3.6 million tonnes of carbon waste. However, Mike Berners-Lee, a professor from Lancaster University, suggests that the footprint sits at a much higher value, at over 10 million tonnes. Why is the 2022 Qatar World Cup so problematic?