If anybody is an avid follower of soccer, they are well aware of one of its most powerful yet corrupt governing bodies, FIFA. This corruption reared its ugly head once more as FIFA chose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
This is a terrible idea. FIFA president Sepp Blatter even labelled it as a “blatant mistake” to deem Qatar as host. According to www.theguardian.com, “about 1 to 1.2 million dollars were paid [to FIFA] for projects by Qatar in return for their 2022 vote.” If this is proven to be true, then it would further establish FIFA as a corrupt organization.
When asked about this controversial topic, Freshman Kyle Underhill said “I actually find it interesting how it is going to be held in Qatar, and how the players are going to respond to the high temperatures. Honestly, why are people being jailed when they should be getting awards? I don’t like the corrupt FIFA organization at all, and I think that they already make enough money off of their scamming game, and it is unbelievable that they are so greedy that they need to take even more bribes.” Freshman Tommy Hosbach, also said “The FIFA organization really does not care about the players. They just want money. More people need to learn and understand how bad and corrupt of an organization they really are.”
As if this scandal was not enough, the temperature in Qatar can rise to up to 45°C, or 122°F, in the summertime, making it nearly impossible to play. FIFA tried to remedy this by moving the tournament to the wintertime, interfering with over fifty domestic leagues around the world. According to www.bbc.com, Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of England’s Premier League, is even considering suing FIFA for doing this to “keep the Christmas and new year programme intact”
Qatar also has terrible human rights policies, as many workers are basically slaves, deprived of food, shelter, and money. According to www.theguardian.com, “Qatar’s construction frenzy ahead of the 2022 World Cup is on course to cost the lives of at least 4,000 migrant workers before a ball is kicked.”
While this seemingly does not necessarily affect the fans attending the event, Qatar actually outlaws homosexuality, preventing anybody in the LGBT community from attending the matches. According to www.nydailynews.com, when Blatter was asked about this issue, he joked that, “they should refrain from any sexual activities.” This is not a surprising comment from the same person who arrogantly suggested, according to ESPN, that female players should “wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts” to make women’s soccer more popular, and “support a larger male fan base.” He later continued more seriously, expressing how he hopes Qatar will change its policies to avoid any discrimination.
Qatar is not going to change. In 2022, homosexuality will still be illegal, unpaid workers will still perish, and it will still be incredibly hot. FIFA should change the location of this tournament, preventing it from any more impending disaster. It does not matter where the tournament will be, so long as it is not in a homophobic nation that has worker’s rights and has the ability to win something without cheating, as well as the climatal capability to actually play soccer.
Sepp Blatter has officially resigned from being FIFA President today, on June 2, 2015. According to www.nytimes.com, “He made his announcement in Zurich as law enforcement officials in the United States confirmed that he was a focus of a federal corruption investigation.” Blatter was trying to distance himself from the controversy, but it was inevitable that he was going to get caught. Stepping down was the right move, as if he didn’t, he would’ve been arrested on corruption charges and jailed, just like several other soccer officials. The FIFA organization will need to change, and a new president, that will be elected later this year, will lead the way.
