Hosting the World Cup in Qatar, a Right or Wrong Choice?

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Introduction: Why?

To introduce, In 2010, the Middle-Eastern country of Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup in 2022. It is pretty outstanding because it is the first Arab country to ever host the World Cup, but why did it only worsen the reputation of Qatar? In preparation for this huge event where millions of people were going to flood into Qatar and watch this once every 4 year competition, Qatar built new stadiums, hotels, towns, and hired an incredible amount of volunteers. It seems like the country was looking forward for this and wanted to do all they could, but why are people still unhappy with the choice of country?

Qatar Controversy:

To begin with, the country of Qatar is notorious for its violations of human rights. The attention towards Qatar has only made these issues come to light and spark more attention. This country is widely known for the disrespect and distreatment towards those who are homosexual or apart of the LGBTQ+ community. People who are homosexual could face time in prison and harrassment, as well as be forced into conversion therapy. The violations towards human rights could potentially put people who are visiting to watch the world cup into jail, or visitors could also fear or worry that they will be harrassed for their sexuality.

Secondly, the health and wellbeing of the players are at risk. The temperatures in Qatar are known to be incredibly high, and although they rescheduled the event to November, this can still be an issue for players. Typically, the World Cup is to take place in the summer, but to alter a player's busy schedule is not taking into consideration their life outside of soccer and what's going on in it. Also player preparation is at risk here, for the training and preparation time that the player was given this year was far too condensed. This would definitely have worn them out and can result in an injury for the player.

Lastly, to go back to what I was saying in the first paragraph and introduction, the abuse of human rights and workers was brought to attention in Qatar. They also abused their workers who were assisting in the creation and reconstruction of stadiums and buildings in Qatar. The workers had to work under harsh conditions under scorching temperatures. As a result, many have died from causes like heart failure and cardiac arrest. This is a classic case of unfair labor practices and overworking.

Conclusion:

So as you can see, the unfair treatment towards those who are homosexual, the inconsideration towards the player's health, and the overworking of workers are all reasons towards why hosting the World Cup in Qatar is so argued against. Forcing and harrassing homosexual people into conversion therapy and jails is unfortunately common in Qatar, and so is the overworking of migrant workers to death under harsh temperatures and unsafe working conditions. Also the ignorance towards the soccer player's health and lives outside of soccer are all reasons why Qatar's hosting of the World Cup is so controversial. Is this really a good look for the legacy of the first Arab country to host the world cup?

Comments (4)

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  • "Is this really a good look for the legacy of the first Arab country to host the world cup?"

    I agree, there are a lot of problems in Qatar to think about when it comes to their human rights but I think this will be a good opportunity for them to evaluate this and make changes which could inspire other countries in the Gulf to also make changes. For example, they have now brought in a minimum wage.

    I don't think Qatar is as bad as previous hosts like Russia. They have a lot more controversy and are continuing to make controversy. I think Qatar is going to make changes and have seen the error of their ways. Although, I am not sure if they will make changes to LGBTQ+ issues since it does not align with their religion. However, I don't think they will kill these people like Russia does.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-gay_purges_in_Chechnya

    1. Do you think wikipedia is a reliable source of information? why/why not?

  • I agree because... as she was saying about the human rights it wasn't fair because Qatar is known for there horrible disrespect to the LGBTQ- community. I definitely agree to stop that happening in the future in Qatar as no one deserves to be harassed and have hurtful comments about them. I agree with the health towards players because its soo hot there and gets up to 20-30 degrees there. They need to look after the players health as it is their responsibility to look after the players as their country is hosting the 2022 world cup in Doha. Lots of volunteers have offered to help build hotels, stadiums and towns for the world cup which was genuine nice but they didn't realise how bad and dreadful the experience it was going to be. I think they made a wrong choice picking the country to host it.

  • Everyone has his own opinion , yes the world cup in Qatar is right choice since One of FIFA's justifications for awarding Qatar the hosting rights was the ability to take the tournament to a new part of the world. None of the 21 previous World Cups have been held in an Islamic country and this month's tournament will be a chance for the region to celebrate its growing love for the game.Hosting the World Cup draws massive exposure to a host country in terms of tourism, foreign trade, jobs and the potential for new development.

  • The FIFA World Cup or FIFA World Cup is the most important competition for the sport of soccer. The World Cup has been held every four years since 1930, and the State of Qatar is considered an independent and sovereign country in the Middle East, a peninsula located in the Persian Gulf. This year's World Cup will be held in Qatar, and this is a correct choice because it helped spread Islam, and a large number of people converted to Islam, spreading the Islamic cause and raising people's awareness.