As the FIFA (Fédération internationale de Football Association) World Cup 2022 international men’s football tournament fast approaches, sixteen “Socceroos”-members of the Australian men’s football team- have released a video on 27 October, commenting on the rights of migrant workers and the status of the LGBTQ+ community in the host nation, the Gulf State of Qatar, while also welcoming the reforms that have already taken place there. In its response, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has commended them for “using their platforms to raise awareness for important matters” and claimed that preparation for the World Cup “has had a transformative impact on improving lives”.
Starting on Sunday, 20 November, 32 football teams will compete in a series of 64 matches, held over 29 days and across eight stadiums, in the first-ever winter World Cup tournament, with the final scheduled for Sunday, 18 December. The right to host the tournament came Qatar’s way on 2 December 2010. Meeting in Zurich, the 22-member FIFA executive cast 14 votes in favour of Qatar, against eight for the US, making it the first Middle Eastern nation to host football’s most prestigious tournament. It was a controversial decision-a “bold gamble” in the words of FIFA officials, prompting allegations of corruption and bribery. At the time Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari construction magnate, was on the 22-member executive committee of FIFA. Bin Hammam received a life ban on all football-related activity by the FIFA Ethics Committee in June 2012 based on his presumed involvement in a vote-buying scandal. This ban was briefly lifted on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2012, but reinstated that December. American lawyer Michael J. Garcia’s FIFA-commissioned 350-page investigation of the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was suppressed by FIFA’s Ethics Committee in 2014. The US Department of Justice indicted nine FIFA officials in May 2015 for “racketeering, conspiracy and corruption”. In December 2015, long-serving FIFA President Sepp Blatter was banned by his Ethics Committee from all football-related activity. Along similar lines, there has been a steady series of reports on FIFA’s various alleged improprieties to date.
The State of Qatar, by its own account, has spent over $220 billion developing its infrastructure in anticipation of the World Cup. The Khalifa International Stadium has been upgraded, while seven new stadiums have been constructed, complete with eco-friendly open-air cooling technology. Roads, public spaces, transportation systems, and hotels have been created and the airport expanded to cope with the expected influx of visitors. Four of the stadiums are within the capital city of Doha, while the other four are within a 40-km radius from the city centre. The Dubai Metro, a 76-km high-speed, surface rail network, encompassing three lines and 38 stations, was opened in 2019 to connect the World Cup sites.
The temporary supply of labour to develop Qatar’s infrastructure comprises low-paid migrant construction workers from South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and Africa- often victims of human trafficking and exploitation. Until recently, workers were recruited under the ‘kafala system’ of sponsorship, whereby their passports were confiscated for the duration of their contracted employment and exit permits were required to leave Qatar. This system was discontinued in 2020 and a minimum wage introduced the following year, although it continues to be alleged that workers may be paid only sporadically and not on time, and that their living conditions leave much to be desired. Some have also been reduced to a state of debt bondage from having paid high recruitment fees to agencies in their countries of origin. Numerous migrant worker deaths from traffic accidents, falls from heights, object strikes, and self-harm have been reported, but the precise extent is unclear. Many deaths remain unexplained- attributed by Qatari authorities to “sudden natural death” or “cardiac arrest”.
Qatar was an unusual choice for the World Cup, given its limited capacity to host, and no track record of hosting, international football matches, as well as the limited accommodation available to potentially large numbers of foreign visitors. In addition, the sweltering heat of summer, with temperatures between 350 C and 450 C, meant that the World Cup had to be moved to the more tolerable months of November and December, with negative implications for European domestic football league fixtures. Although 1.5 million visitors are expected, only around 33,000 hotel rooms are available and it has been reported that a combination of onshore private apartments and offshore cruise ships will make up for the shortfall in accommodation.
The peninsula of Qatar protrudes from the east coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula into the western Persian Gulf. It mainly consists of low-lying desert, with sand dunes and sand flats to the south. Extending 100 miles north to south and 50 miles east to west, it has a 37-mile-long land border with eastern Saudi Arabia. Qatar is an urbanised nation, and most Qataris live in the modern capital city of Doha (ad-Dawha).
Qatar is an absolute monarchy, where political parties are not permitted. The ruling Al Thani family originated in the Nejd region of central Arabia. The first Al Thani emir, Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani secured control of Qatar in the 19th century, establishing his capital at Al-Bida, now the port area to the west of Doha. He signed a treaty with Britain to safeguard his authority, making Qatar a British Protectorate between 1868 and independence in 1971. Prior to the discovery of oil in 1939, the economy was based on pearl diving and fishing. Qatar’s economy is now dominated by crude oil and natural gas production. Discovery of the North Field, the world’s largest offshore natural gas field, has made Qatar the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Long-term natural gas contracts protect the economy from short-term price fluctuations of crude oil. The state-owned QatarEnergy, formerly Qatar Petroleum, controls all exploration, production, refining, transport, and storage of oil and gas in the emirate.
Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world. Qatar’s citizens are the beneficiaries of the emirate’s impressive fossil fuel resources-exempt from income and sales tax and entitled to free education, healthcare (including overseas treatment), water, gas, and electricity, as well as free or subsidized housing. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) was set up in 2005 to manage the nation’s sovereign wealth fund and diversify its holdings, leading to investment in assets around the world. In London, for example, Qatari Holdings, a division of QIA, owns the Shard skyscraper, the 2012 Olympic Village, Harrods department store, Chelsea Village, and a significant stake in the Canary Wharf financial district. QIA also owns the highly-regarded Al Jazeera Media Network, a news and current affairs satellite TV service. Reporting on events within Qatar itself, however, is controlled by the Amiri Diwan-the sovereign body and administrative office of the Amir.
Qatar is quite clearly a two-tier society, comprised of privileged Qataris and underprivileged migrant workers. Despite a veneer of modernity, Qatari society is based on past tradition and the strict observance of Islam, including the promulgation of Sharia law. Some concessions are being made for visitors to Qatar for the World Cup, such as unmarried partners, including same-sex couples, being allowed to share bedrooms in selected hotels, and alcohol sales being permitted in stadiums for three hours before and an hour after matches. Such features of previous World Cup fixtures as public drunkenness, immodest dress, unprovoked violence, and overt hooliganism will not be expected to feature during the 2022 tournament. Any unacceptable behaviours or actions will, without doubt, invite swift retribution from the Qatari authorities, in the form of fines, prison time, and even deportation. This could indeed turn out to be the most peaceful of all World Cups!
Qatar’s trading partnerships and its global investments in financial institutions, companies, real estate, luxury hotels, sports clubs, technology, energy, and other sectors explains the diffidence of Western nations, as well as Asian countries such as India and China, in challenging the status quo in the emirate. FIFA itself has shown to have issues with transparency and accountability and a proneness to corruption, not unsurprising given the vast sums of money at stake. However, for the sake of the players, fans, and spectators, and in recognition the efforts of the migrant construction workers, one hopes that the World Cup turns out to be an unmitigated success. Given its financial dominance, Qatar’s direction of travel, and the pace at which it proceeds, will continue to be largely determined by itself, possibly guided by gentle nudges from abroad.
Ashis Banerjee