Editorial: Why personal is political at FIFA

One of the most anticipated events in this season’s sporting calendar, the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, kicked off this month with great fanfare. This time, the onset of the games has been clouded by controversies surrounding the host nation’s human rights track record, with regard to its treatment of migrant workers as well as individuals hailing from the LGBTQIA+ community.

Last year, a reputed international newspaper offered a damning indictment of the state of migrant labourers in Qatar when it ran an article suggesting that as many as 6,500 workers might have lost their lives in connection with the World Cup preparations. The data was based upon statistics provided by the governments of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Citizens from these nations make up a significant portion of the migrant workers in Qatar, with many of them falling into the category of limited-skill workers.

The NGO Amnesty International’s report from 2021 pegged this number at a higher quantum — over 15,000 deaths in connection with the World Cup. The data was gleaned from official statistics from Qatari officials and is in relation to foreign nationals in the country who died between 2010-2019. Having said that, the Qatari administration has not denied either of the figures, but has instead said that an annual mortality rate of 1,500 deaths within a population of 2 mn is only normal, a metric that has been called out by independent fact checkers. The International Labour Organisation had criticised Qatar last year for inadequate documentation of accidents and causes of deaths, when it came to such workers.

Labour injustices seem to be just one side of the story. Doha’s treatment of members of the sexual minorities has also stuck out as a sore point in the past few years. Homosexuality is deemed illegal in the Islamic country. Those who have been caught by law enforcement agencies are sent to detention centres where they are subjected to beatings. As per the NGO Human Rights Watch, the detainees are offered a release form in exchange for agreeing to attend sessions with psychologists; or in the case of transgender attendees, undergo conversion therapy, a claim that has been categorically denied by the local administration.

However, denials and indifference have invited the wrath of international players and also ruffled feathers in the echelons of management of football teams in Europe. German football federation (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf has gone on record to say that he is prepared to cough up the fine when the German captain Manuel Neuer wears a multi-hued One Love armband during the tournament. Neuer won’t be alone as the captains of many other European teams plan on wearing such armbands in support of diversity and as an act of inclusion for football lovers irrespective of their sexualities. In response, the football body FIFA has also introduced armbands expressing support for various social causes, although in a more subtle manner, so as to not annoy the ruling dispensation.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino had beseeched players to focus on the game and leave politics aside. But it’s hard to look past such issues and turn a blind eye to discrimination, especially when it’s being whitewashed in service of an event whose objective is to bring individuals together.