Expats have their say about World Cup 2022 in Qatar

Shutterstock.com

Published on 2022-11-18 at 14:00 by Asaël Häzaq

The whole world has eyes on Qatar for this 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, which is taking place from November 20 to December 18h. How do expats in Qatar feel about this major event? How is the stay organized for those who make the trip to be with the soccer world? What is the general feeling among those who are attending the matches? And what about those who are calling for a boycott?

Unless the world's memory fails and forgets the many dysfunctions of FIFA, never has such an event sparked so much controversy. Between the love of sport, human rights violations, passion for soccer, financial frauds, popular fervor, ecological impact and pollution, expats voice out their opinions.

Fans making the trip to Qatar

With the "#BoycottQatar2022" hashtag gone viral, we could have started with the polemic and kicked off with the buzzing debate around causes that have been contradictory for quite some time now. But for many, like Franco-Senegalese expatriate, Ibrahim would suggest ironically while being falsely naive, and a bit provocative: "Let's talk about sports... I mean football!" Ibrahim is an engineer in Qatar. He intends to take advantage of his stay to attend World Cup matches. "This doesn't happen every day. But I hope things will improve. I can't just cover my eyes and watch as if nothing happened. Like many, I bought my ticket, and I hope to see something exciting."

Of the 3.1 million tickets issued, 2.89 million have been sold. From a fan's point of view, it is already a success, and many are traveling from very far. Among them are around 70,000 Mexicans, 30,000 Argentinians, 10,000 French, thousands of Americans, English, Brazilians, Germans, Saudis, and of course, Qataris. Loti, an expatriate of Indian origin who has been working in Qatar for many years, confirms: "The atmosphere here is great!" And please don't tell him that he's being paid to attend!

Were fans paid by Qatar? Here's another controversy

Over the past few days, there's been a new controversy brewing. The World Cup Organizing Committee invited hundreds of fans to promote Qatar on social media. In this regard, Fabien, spokesman for the French supporters' group "Irrésistibles Français", confirms that he was contacted last year by the Organizing Committee. This is what he said to Agence France-Presse: "We almost choked on the proposal. We were expected to promote this World Cup in Qatar over social media! We immediately refused!" Regarding organizers, they said to be satisfied and pleased to have recruited 450 fans from 59 countries. They were many influencers, especially on Tik Tok, who got flooded with gifts from the Qatari organizers. "But many others have refused!", says Loti, outraged.

Last Sunday, a video went viral on the Internet. It showed crowds of supporters gathered under different banners: "Brazil Fans Qatar", "Spain Fans Qatar", "England Fans Qatar"! However, many believe that they were all Indians. To that, Loti responded: "You can always support the team of your choice, can't you? And yes, we saw rallies [Friday, November 11] in Doha! Yes, there are people who are getting paid to support the different teams, to make the numbers, as they say. All this is true, but that doesn't mean that all fans are fake. I don't like the toxic atmosphere it generates. Many make fun of us, but did you know that we have a French football fan club in India? Indians are football fans who follow men's and women's football, and there are more and more of them living in Qatar. I don't mind people wanting to make the buzz by creating polemics, but you have to get the facts right first and stop stigmatizing people."

According to the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 700,000 Indians live and work in Qatar, representing the largest expatriate community in the country.

Expat football lovers

"When do we start talking about football?" asks Loti before adding:

"And I'm not saying this to get my blinkers on! Nowadays, one always needs to justify everything he says or thinks! But here, I'm just saying that there are state actions, there are business conspiracies (because a lot of international companies are involved), and then there is sports. What should we do? Personally, I'm watching football!"

British expats in Canada, Sam and Laura, who are used to watching men's and women's football together, are real sports fans. Laura practices athletics, while Sam prefers to watch competitions on TV. Here's what they had to say: "We like sports, especially football, but we follow lots of other sports too. Because of all these controversies, sports seem to be losing their values. There's too much money involved, too many schemes. We'll watch the World Cup because we like sports, but we know that things are not going well. Not only in Qatar but in the entire world. There's a real problem here."

Ibrah has similar thoughts. "What happened to football? Nowadays, it's all about huge contracts, millions and billions. Where does sport really fit in? True fans are just being punished! OK! But who really has the upper hand here? Shouldn't we look higher up the ladder? To be honest, with all that I hear, I still wonder. Should I feel guilty about attending a football match? What can we do to improve things, to stop exploiting people?"

In contrast, Luv, a French expat in Switzerland, no longer wants to hear "things that are not about football". He will follow the matches on TV and insists: "There will always be poor people to be exploited. The World Cup will not change the world. Human rights? Pollution? LGBT community? To be honest, these issues won't stop me from watching my matches. Am I horrible? The world is worse!" When asked about respect for human integrity, moral conscience, human rights and responsibilities, he says: "That's not my issue! My issue is to follow the matches on TV. Can you tell me why I have to spend money to watch football matches?"

Statistics about the exploitation of foreign workers don't tally

According to an investigation by the British media The Guardian, published in February 2021, more than 6,500 expatriates from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh have died since 2010, when the organization of the World Cup was awarded to Qatar. Qatar contests this figure and speaks of "only" 37 deaths on the construction sites of the World Cup stadiums. Then came a battle of numbers and calculation methods, with The Guardian and the Qatari government using different systems. But the Qataris have finally admitted that there were grey areas that were difficult to resolve. Consequently, FIFA seems to be siding with the Qatari interpretation. For Ibrah: "It's just a big mess! Again, what should we do? Should we boycott, or should we participate by denouncing what is wrong? What bothers me the most is that there is no more respect. Racism is on the rise, whereas sport is about sharing on an equal footing. We have lost the values of sport. We should reclaim that in order to send a positive message. We really need it."

Expats who say “No to the World Cup!”

The hashtag calling for a boycott of the World Cup is making a buzz on social media. Ironic questions such as "Is it me, or does no one care about the World Cup?", and "World Cup of what?" are breaking popularity records. Environmental activists, LGBTQIA+ and human rights advocates, amongst others, are all coming together to criticize and protest the World Cup.

Environmentalists believe that it is a "climate aberration". LGBTQIA+ activists are wondering if they risk going to jail if they travel to Qatar, homosexual relations being strictly forbidden there. Human rights advocates are pushing for states to take strong positions. But the hashtag also carries a number of racist and homophobic comments, which resonate with some fans, whether they are "pro" or "anti" World Cup.

Zak, a Belgian immigrant in Spain, is very annoyed: "When You type in "World Cup", you only get information about football. Is this the only world cup that exists? Aren't there any other sports in life or even other activities? Can we, for two seconds, stop talking about a sport that is so corrupted by money?"

When reminded of Zinedine Zidane's words, he bursts: "And what about human exploitation? And what about racism? And what about pollution? He should fight against the scourges of football". Zidane, who unveiled his new statue at the Musée Grévin last month, made the following statement about the calls for a boycott: "We must leave the controversy aside and make room for the game and the World Cup". That's a shame, according to Zak, who believed that football players also have a moral duty. "We can't detach sports from people. We can't tolerate the intolerable."

Qatar's shuttles: A very expensive carbon footprint

Jo, an American-born supporter, didn't expect what she saw. "I couldn't find a place to stay there. So here I am in Dubai. Hello, carbon footprint!"

Since there were not enough rooms to accommodate everyone in Qatar, the Organizing Committee decided to set up shuttle flights to nearby cities like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Muscat in Oman, Kuwait City and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. More than 160 daily flights have been scheduled to allow fans to attend matches and return to their hotels.

Zora, a German supporter who traveled to Qatar with her family, explained her astonishment: "All these air conditioners in the open air are quite disturbing. I'm here for the first time, and it's even more unbelievable than what I had been told. But it's not that good, either. All this money could have been spent in a better way." Still, Zora is looking forward to enjoying the festive atmosphere and says that she has a good feeling about this World Cup!

Deep down, there is an imperceptible sense of a greater malaise. Some expatriates attending the matches seem almost embarrassed to do so. Others want to show their good faith by supporting football and denouncing scandals at the same time. There is also a latent discomfort among the players, who point out that they do not participate in decisions concerning the organization of World Cups.

This is why some teams have decided on goodwill gestures: France will support human rights NGOs, the United States will display an LGBT logo, players from England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales will wear armbands created during the "one love" campaign to fight discrimination. NGOs see this as an encouraging and a perhaps-strong-enough signal to make the big stakeholders, starting with FIFA, want to change things.