Henry Srebrnik, [Halifax] Chronicle Herald
I’m guessing many millions of Canadian had never heard of Qatar before now. But the small Persian Gulf state has changed all that, by hosting one of the planet’s great sports spectacles: the World Cup of soccer, sponsored by its international governing body, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
For this small country, it is the culmination of 12 years of preparation and more than $200 billion in infrastructure spending.
Eight new stadiums have been built for the World Cup, including the 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, which is the biggest venue at the tournament and will host the final.
A soccer non-entity, Qatar also became only the second country to be awarded a FIFA World Cup despite having never even qualified for a previous one. It’s as if Canada were to host a world cricket match. But hundreds of the world’s finest soccer players and more than a million fans are now in the capital for the tournament.
The discovery in 1971 of the world’s largest gas field led to the transformation of Qatar, turning it into one of the wealthiest countries in the world -- the fourth richest in the world per capita -- and emboldening its leaders to see their nation not just as an appendage of its wealthier Persian Gulf neighbours.
Qataris account for just eleven per cent of the country’s total population, vastly outnumbered by the 2.4 million foreigners who live among them. They sit atop the social ladder, their status demonstrated by the expensive cars they drive, the season’s designer handbags that hang on the wrists of women, the soaring salaries and leading positions afforded to Qataris by state-funded institutions.
But Qatar’s position as the tournament host has not been without controversy. Reports by investigative journalists have linked the FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging. Multiple FIFA board members are alleged to have accepted bribes to swing the vote to Qatar. The country in effect “bought” the 2022 tournament.
As well, there were objections to Qatar’s political system. It is ruled by the House of Thani as a hereditary monarchy. The head of state and chief executive, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the current emir, holds nearly all executive and legislative authority, as well as controlling the judiciary.
But most criticism of Qatar has revolved around its extremely poor human rights record, from the death of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women’s rights in a country that criminalizes homosexuality.
Qatar relies on low-income workers from South Asia and Africa, who often work grueling hours for meager pay and sometimes face outright abuse. They are described, with only slight exaggeration, as slave labour. They are often banned from entering the malls where Qatari citizens purchase luxury goods and eat at western food outlets. Salaries depend on where you come from and which passport you hold.
London’s Guardian newspaper in February 2021 published the results of an investigation that concluded that 6,500 migrant workers had died in the country since the World Cup was awarded in 2010. Trade unions are prohibited and the media is strictly regulated so little of this is reported.
Qatar World Cup 2022 secretary general Hassan Al-Thawadi has disputed these figures. Asked if the 2022 tournament was “sportswashing,” he maintained that it “could not be further from the truth.” The Qatari government said in a statement that the mortality rate among these communities “is within the expected range for the size and demographics of the population.”
The emirate’s Preventive Security Department forces have arbitrarily arrested lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and subjected them to ill-treatment in detention, Human Rights Watch reported in October. As a requirement for their release, security forces mandated that transgender women detainees attend conversion therapy sessions at a government-sponsored “behavioural healthcare” centre.
Qatari officials have bristled at much of the criticism, arguing that the country is being unfairly singled out in a manner that suggests an undercurrent of racism.
Hosting soccer’s premier event in an Arab and Muslim-majority country for the first time “is a truly historical moment and an opportunity to break stereotypes about our region,” Qatar’s foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, asserted.
Qatar wants to increase its international footprint, particularly in the Middle East. For example, it funds the influential Al Jazeera television network, founded in 1996, which broadcasts worldwide. The bid to host the World Cup was another step in this quest, one component of a much broader strategy intending to position Qatar as a significant regional actor.
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