They call it “The Beautiful Game” and for good reason. Football is the universal language of hope and love. It brings joy to so many and for 90 minutes it can take you to incredible highs and the lowest of lows. In some cases, the game can literally change lives writes Gasant Abarder.
Abarder, who recently launched his book, Hack with a Grenade, is among the country’s most influential media voices. Catch his weekly column here, exclusive to Cape {town} Etc.
They call it The Beautiful Game and for good reason. Football is the universal language of hope and love. It brings joy to so many and for 90 minutes it can take you to incredible highs and the lowest of lows. In some cases, the game can literally change lives.
In my family, we live, eat, sleep and breathe football. We play the game, we have massive rivalries, we collect the kits, we watch as much of the game as we can and we debate and analyse it ad nausea.
With the World Cup in Qatar just a few weeks away you’d think the Abarder household would be counting down the days. But something is different. The shine is gone and what is meant to be the global game’s biggest showpiece feels like a massive affront. We’re not excited about it all – for footballing reasons but mainly for human rights reasons.
Let’s start with the footballing reasons. The football bosses at FIFA moved the matches to the end of the year when it would be possibly more bearable to play and not in excruciating heat. The stadiums have been fitted with gigantic air conditioning units to ostensibly keep the players cool.
Moving the tournament out to the end of the year instead of the European summer means the disruption of the biggest football leagues in the world, leaving football managers anxious that their best players are going to suffer injuries that could impact their fortunes.
But let’s put the football matters aside for a minute.
The International Labour Organization has shockingly revealed the extent of deaths of foreign construction workers since 2010, when the Qatar tournament was announced. There have been hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries during the building of new stadiums. When a small number of foreign workers complained about the inhumane conditions in which they live they were deported.
Expats in Qatar will tell you about the race hierarchy in the country. Arab folks are top of the food chain. White Europeans and Americans are treated with deference while black people – in a rarity – are treated better than Indian, Pakistan and Bangladeshi nationals.
Football fans attending the World Cup beware: you will be watched and your every move scrutinised. A graphic that reads ‘Qatar welcomes you!’ was circulated by a Qatari Citizen Group a few years ago and reminded us all that tolerance is in short supply. Among the rules:
- The drinking of alcohol is prohibited. Good luck telling that to England fans!
- Homosexuality is prohibited. The ACDP will be pleased.
- Immodesty and the showing of too much skin are not allowed. (The graphic of this one is a shapely pair of women’s legs being cancelled. You can’t make it up.)
- Profanity is prohibited. Again, good luck explaining to the England fans!
- No loud music and sounds. Really? At a World Cup?
- No dating. Hahaha!
The World Cup organisers say these are not their guidelines and their one for fans have yet to be distributed.
But the world is endorsing this tournament of hate by sending their nations’ football clubs to participate in this event. Corporate sponsors stand to have their brands associated with this special brand of hypocrisy and human rates abuse.
Some brands have tried their best to take a stand without losing equity in the business of football. Hummel, the kit apparel supplier to World Cup 2022 participants Denmark, created a kit with understated logos and badges to signal its protest.
Upon launching the kit it tweeted: “This shirt carries with it a message. We don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives. We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn’t the same as supporting Qatar as a host nation.”
But global icons like David Beckham, who is a UNICEF ambassador, are prepared to burn bridges with his support of the tournaments. And typically, the federal government that is FIFA has come up with some pretty awful regulations for ordinary people.
What isn’t being reported is how Qatar is insisting that from 1 November until the end of January (the tournament ends on 18 December), everyone who transits through Doha and stays for more than 24 hours must have a World Cup match ticket. So, if you’re passing through in January you still need that World Cup ticket stub.
It doesn’t seem to matter to anyone that The Beautiful Game is being cheapened for a quick few Arab billions. This is one occasion where that argument that politics and football shouldn’t mix just doesn’t wash. For once, I’m so glad Bafana didn’t qualify.
NOTE: An earlier version of this column attributed the rules to the Qatari government actually came from a Qatari citizen group. It isn’t from a World Cup 2022 organiser release as this Reuters Fact Check shows.
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Picture: Unsplash