Why is this year's World Cup so controversial?
Multiple cities, sports clubs and public figures are threatening to boycott Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host. The reasons behind this are multiple human rights and climate violations. Since the World Cup 2022 was awarded to Qatar back in 2010, over 6,000 migrant workers have died there due to unsafe work conditions when building facilities like seven new football stadiums, a hundred new hotels, a new airport, a new metro system and many new roads.
Most of these migrant workers were from South or Southeast Asia and from poor backgrounds. Many were young, in their 20s to 40s, but unsafe work conditions made them die from exposure to extreme heat, collapsing roofs or catwalks, and even plain exhaustion. Amnesty International says that the Qatari state has failed to investigate these deaths and compensate the workers' families. In August 2022, a mere few months before the start of the World Cup, at least 60 migrant workers were detained and deported by the Qatari authorities for protesting that they hadn't been paid for over 6 months.
The carbon footprint of the 2022 FIFA World Cup has also been controversial, even if to a lesser extent. All of the seven new stadiums have outdoor air conditioning, which, even as it makes matches more comfortable for fans, produces high carbon emissions, has alerted Greenpeace. In addition, Qatar's stringent laws against alcohol consumption in public, premarital cohabitation and LGBT+ rights have also roused calls for boycott.
Eight French cities, namely Paris, Marseilles, Strasbourg, Lille, Bordeaux, Reims, Nancy and Rodez, are boycotting the World Cup on the grounds described above. These cities' municipal authorities will not be broadcasting any matches. Eric Cantona, a former French football star of Manchester United, as well as some French media groups, are also boycotting the event.
Pressure is also being exercised in Germany, Denmark and Norway to boycott Qatar 2022. Two former heads of the German Football Association have said that awarding the tournament to Qatar was a “mistake,” and the Norwegian club Tromsø IL has urged their country's football association to boycott the event.
How are expats affected by the preparations?
On one Facebook group for expats in Qatar, a World Cup tourist enquired about the country's strict laws. An American expat clarified that, even if these laws are real, expats rarely get into trouble for things like living together as an unmarried couple as long as they remain discreet. In these groups, more expats are talking less about the threats of boycott and more about concrete ways in which the World Cup is affecting the school calendar, visa waiting times and accommodation prices.
Qatari authorities have announced a special school holiday for the World Cup, which will last between November 20 and December 22. The second school semester will start on December 25. International and private schools usually have a winter break around Christmas time, but they have yet to clarify how they will adjust their school calendars. They will likely change their 2023 calendar to allow kids to be free during the World Cup season. In expat groups, some parents are looking for private tutors to teach their kids during this special school break.
Qatar's focus on granting visas to match-goers, i.e., the Hayya Card (Fan ID), has made them postpone other visa procedures. This is proving to be a headache for some expats who've recently relocated there. One British woman on a Facebook group says that her husband has recently moved to Doha but that it's near-impossible for her and their two kids to join him before the end of the year, as family reunification visas are being delayed because of the World Cup. She's been advised by other expats to wait until January to join him, although that will be hard for her young children, who are attached to their father.
A Turkish woman was advised the same by the Qatari consulate in Istanbul. She will also be able to join her expat husband only in January 2023. Another new expat in the group, one who holds a Hayya Card, which allowed her to enter the country in October, expressed her worry that the delay in the issuance of her Residence Permit will prevent her from enrolling her child in time for the school semester that starts on 25 December.
The surge in demand for temporary accommodation is both a boon and a curse for expats in Qatar. On the one hand, many expats are renting rooms or subletting their houses to visiting football fans as a way to earn some extra cash. As reported in the UAE-based newspaper The National, some expats are even converting their entire primary residence into AirBnBs for match-goers. They themselves are moving to their countries of origin or a neighboring country, notably the UAE, until the World Cup rush is over.
On the flip side, other expats have seen their rent increase or their leases not be renewed, for their landlords are looking to use the house as a short-term rental during the World Cup season. They've been struggling to find another affordable place, as the cost of accommodation with the surge in demand. The consulting group Valustrat says that the average rent on Pearl Island in Doha has increased by around 300 USD as compared to the last quarter of 2021. Real estate prices will likely return to normal in 2023.
Once the games start, traffic is also likely to increase. Expats will have to carefully plan their travel routes and work from home whenever possible. The World Cup is not bringing only inconveniences, of course. Some expats are really excited about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to volunteer in such a major sporting event. On expat Facebook groups, they're giving each other tips on applying to be volunteers.
