The loss of football's innocence

The year is 2011 and Sepp Blatter, then president of FIFA, is at a podium during a televised ceremony, holding an envelope in his hand. The atmosphere is tense as hundreds of guests are in hushed silence. This is no run-of-the-mill press conference. Inside the envelope is the name of the country that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“The winner to organize the 2022 FIFA World Cup is… Qatar!” Cue celebrations from the Qatari ambassadors in the crowd.

Beating the likes of Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the United States as host country, Qatar had firmly planted its flag in football history. A country of under 3 million people, against all odds, had punched their ticket to host the world’s greatest sporting event. Something to celebrate…right?

Unlike the fairytale some would like to paint, this is no underdog story. In hindsight, Qatar were always going to be chosen as the world cup hosts, and for one reason: money.

Before finding oil in the late 1930s, Qatar was one of the world’s poorest nations. The mass industrialization of oil extraction in the 1940s, however, saw Qatar's economy skyrocket from a per capita GDP of 3,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars over a course of 50 years, a percent increase of 1,600% Essentially, becoming one of the world's richest countries overnight.

In power today is the Al Thani family monarchy, whose lineage stretches back to the 1870s. The current Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is the son of Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who happens to be a massive sports fan.

His two best-known enterprises, Qatar Foundation and Qatar Airways, sponsor some of the world’s most famous football teams like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and PSG. As the most watched event in the world, the 2022 World Cup was a perfect opportunity to merge bin Khalifa’s two passions: sport, and the crinkle of green paper.

When Qatar were announced as hosts for the World Cup, eyebrows immediately raised. Simply put, the geography and climate of Qatar is not suitable for football competitions, nor many other sports for that matter. Its temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit. To fix this, FIFA announced plans for the tournament to be played in November, when temperatures would be much milder. However, this would drive a wedge right into the European league season, dividing it in two. Fans, pundits, and players all reacted in shock as football’s largest corporation bowed down to a seemingly insignificant entity.

For FIFA to be so lenient towards Qatar’s drawbacks, there had to be a reason. There was. In 2019, documents found that in 2011, Qatar had sent 3 checks worth a combined total of 400 million dollars just 21 days before FIFA were due to announce the World Cup host. Another bombshell report stated that an additional 400 million were given 3 years later, according to

The Daily Wire.

FIFA’s slogan, “For the game. For the world,” is an innocent line that masks their murky past. Despite being the head organization of the footballing world, FIFA has a remarkable history, full of corruption, scandals, and a handful of investigations.

In fact, this wasn’t their first tango with the law. The draw for the 2018 world cup—which was eventually awarded to Russia—was also muddled with indictments. According to

The New York Times, as many as five members of FIFA’s top board were bribed to vote for Russia, and “More than half the people involved in the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, including the former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, have been accused of wrongdoing, though not necessarily criminally charged.”

Since then, conditions have improved. In 2015, FIFA headquarters were raided by U.S and Swedish authorities for corruption, and nine high ranking officials were arrested. While FIFA president Sepp Blatter was not accused of wrongdoing, he resigned as president merely a week later, only a couple of days into his new term.

His successor was Giovani Infantano who, in his first incumbent speech, promised to “restore the image of FIFA, and the respect of FIFA.” To his credit, he has been at the forefront of reforms to tackle the corruption of FIFA’s past. In 2021, he forged a list of 11 key components to “Safeguard the integrity of football and FIFA.”

While these were promising signs, it was too little too late to reverse the world cup bids—and their consequences. Russia proceeded to host the 2018 World Cup, and while Russia's tenure has since been seen as acceptable, Qatar’s world cup will be a permanent stain on FIFA’s record.

While Qatar secured hosting rights in 2011, they had a problem. With a population of under 2 million people, there weren’t enough construction workers to build the 7 required stadiums.

Promising money and financial security, Qatar were able to lure migrant workers to complete World Cup stadium construction. Because they came from poor countries where they couldn’t find work, over a million fled to Qatar, so many that according to Human Rights Watch, 95% of Qatar’s labor force today are non-native workers.

To host the 1.5 million expected tourists this winter, brand new infrastructure was built. Where before there was nothing but sandy dunes, there was a hotel. Where once was an oasis of water and lush palm trees, now a McDonalds.

But because of the Emir's undisputed power over the entire government, the lack of democracy has left many of these workers prone to human rights abuse. Because of the tight time frame, nothing has stopped the Emir from forcing long hours in the sweltering heat—and the results have been catastrophic. An estimated 6,500 workers have perished since 2011.

And all of this, for what? A tournament that will span 2 months, leaving behind 7 massive stadiums that will never be used quite like they were meant to be used. What will happen to the dozens of new hotels after there is no one to host? What will happen to the hundreds of miles of new road, paved for no one to drive on?

The story of the Qatar world cup is more than just a sports event, It's a lesson about how money can taint anything, even the simple, innocent pleasures of football. It's an anomaly that never should have happened, and hopefully will not happen again in the future.

So when you turn on your phone or TV, and watch the best of the best play on the world's greatest stage, ask yourself why there's snow out your window during a summer sports event. Ask yourself why a man like Sepp Blatter was never charged with corruption, ask yourself why so many had to die for others' entertainment.

So next time, ask. Do it for the game. Do it for the world.