The Dark Secret of The World Cup: A Tale of Corporate Greed
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
After a long wait of 4 years, the FIFA world cup has officially returned; being held in Qatar this time. The festivities and hype are in full swing as we get to see our favourite football icons returning onto the main and ultimate stage of world football. However, the world cup this year harbours a dark secret. There was an acute problem of shortage of stadiums in Qatar before the world cup. To counteract this problem in a short deadline was an impossible task that required the Qatari Government to use harsh and unjustifiable means. Employers and Recruiters thoroughly exploited migrant workers and the lack of opportunities in their countries to employ them in slave like labour with no human rights.
Any work-related deaths were ignored and uncompensated. This caused many tragic losses and unbearable sadness to many families in Qatar. The elegant and luxurious stadiums of Qatar reside on a foundation of tragedy, death, slavery and mistreatment of immigrants.
Furthermore, Qatar also has many strict laws against the LGBT community and many homophobic remarks made by the officials. The FIFA community even discussed the banning of pride flags and any other symbol of LGBTQ+ alliance. The country faced a lot of opposition for these actions however FIFA still went on with their decision of hosting the world cup in Qatar. Many of these laws and remarks are based on Arabic social norms and culture. This Includes the problems of gender inequality and harsh treatment of women in Qatar.
This includes the reduced freedom of women for work and education opportunities. The system of guardianship refrains women from participating in work and education related opportunities without the approval of a male guardian (usually the father or a brother).
In Conclusion, the controversy around the world cup has truly shown how corporatization of events and greed leads to terrible choices that plague the entire world as the one who owns the key to money and power can manipulate everyone and everything around them.
However, the opposite can work as well; The one who makes a change in society is the one who holds power as everyone will follow them. Therefore, I advise everyone that the best way to help the world in situations like these is to first change oneself. This first remarkable action is what brings about a revolution of respect and wellness in our society.
Thank You