Why Qatar is a controversial host for this year’s World Cup

The announcement of Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup back in 2010 was something that had people scratching their heads, as it was very random and seemingly came out of nowhere. Before this announcement, Qatar barely had any infrastructure, with a big lack of stadiums. Critics raised concerns about the logistics of holding a sporting event in a country where summertime temperatures regularly top 100 degrees as well as criticism over allegations of bribery and corruption among FIFA officials who voted for Qatar to host this event.

 Many people from different countries have come forward to protest the event, including actual players such as KDB, Jordan Henderson, and Erling Haaland. With nations such as Germany, England and Belgium protesting the World Cup due to the human rights abuses that have been covered up by the Qatari government, surely this tournament will be remembered for being controversial with many migrant workers' lives taken.

 The concerns over human rights abuses go beyond the treatment of migrant workers.

“In a word, the human rights situation in Qatar is bad”,  Erling Haaland from Manchester City tells ESPNFC. The human rights watch has even urged journalists to look beyond soccer by publishing a report summarizing what it described as “the numerous human rights concerns surrounding Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup.”

 Qatar’s penal code criminalizes sex outside of marriage, which has led to the prosecution of multiple rape victims. And homosexuality is criminalized heavily: Sex between men is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and men who “instigate” or “entice” another man to commit an “act of sodomy or immorality” could face one to three years of imprisonment.

 Overall, this tournament shouldn’t have happened in the first place. However, money can make anything happen, and corruption is not a joke. Will I still tune in and watch this tournament? Yes. Do I believe this tournament is evil and completely made up of money? Yes. Do I support what they’re doing? No.