OVERVIEW
Help me fix the problem of sportswashing as corrupt FIFA runs its illegitimate event in oppressive Qatar.
Boycott or minimize your watching of the tournament. Perhaps only watch your own country’s games.
Put pressure on FIFA and Qatar to reform
Help me focus on WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
CONTEXT
I wrote this piece in August 2022 because in the two month lead up to the tournament, no one in America seemed to know that the “soccer World Cup” had been sold out from under the beautiful game. Even the British presenters on US television were ignoring the bribery that “won” the world cup, the repressive state sportswashing itself and that the turf — setting for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last hopes — was watered with the blood of migrant laborers.
So, in that article “Why I’m Boycotting the World Cup in Qatar and So Should You” for The Howler magazine, I deliberately included a massive number of links to help people understand my outrage. I really suggest you read it because it gives the background and the context to the betrayal of the game by FIFA and the bad bahaviour by feudal petrostate of Qatar.
As the tournament opened no one should be surprised about the details that Qatar lied and reneged about allowing beer, lied and reneged about allowing kosher food and that hypocritical FIFA president Gianni Infantino (a straight, white man who now lives in Qatar, earning $3 million a year) thinks he knows what it feels like to be an oppressed minority.
But, although, my boycott of the world cup is real and I hope people will join me in it, I didn’t necessarily think that everyone would be able to. Many people have reached out to me to say they feel terrible, but though they are going to watch a game or two anyway, what can they do to mitigate their collaboration? To that end, one friend is lighting a memorial candle before each game to commemorate those who lost their lives to allow the tournament to happen. Below are a few of the things I think we can do to have an impact.
In the end, though, the sportswashing is so expensive for the Qataris because it is effective. They are buying a durable product that mixes personal and family traditions, love of the world’s favourite sport, and patriotism. So it works and, especially with Britain’s parlous economic situation, and America’s continued dallying with fascism, shaking off the influence of extremely wealthy despots and their ill-gotten oil money will be increasingly difficult.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO
Together we can take steps to do four things:
Shame the corporate sponsors including Coca Cola who have now sponsored the 1936 Nazi Olympics, the 2022 Chinese Uyghur Genocide Olympics and now the Qatar Migrant Labor Death World Cup.
Radically transform FIFA and make Gianni Infantino persona non grata. Already, since 2010, most of the executive committee has gone through death, disgrace or both, but the decade of inaction (promoted by Infantino) and Infantino’s crass collobaration are proof that the organization is beyond remedy in its current form.
Promote rights including migrant worker rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, religious rights across the world but especially in Qatar.
Turn sportswashing into rights watching. We need to keep the spotlight on Qatar’s wrongdoing long after this illegitimate World Cup. If the world is too addicted to Qatar’s fossil fuels to impose economic sanctions, then we need to impose cultural sanctions. PSG should be shamed at every turn, beINSPORTS should be boycotted and taken out of circulation, simply don’t fly Qatar Airways.
CORPORATE SPONSORS
These are the corporations that have decided that their brand would be enhanced by associating with corrupt officials and repressive autocrats. Write and tell them they are wrong. Help me by setting up petitions pointing at these and writing form letters for people to sign onto.
ADIDAS
COCA-COLA
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV
WANDA GROUP
HYUNDAI • KIA
QATAR AIRWAYS
QATARENERGY
VISA
NBC? — I haven’t watched any of the coverage, but they spent 3 months hyping the World Cup on the Premier League shows without a single mention of its rotten roots.
SAVE THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
I’m not entirely sure the best way of doing this. Send me ideas.
I’ve asked Amnesty to do something more substantive than a petition, but Qatar and FIFA definitely should pay up for the damages they have done to the lives of migrant workers.
There’s an MEP, Viola von Cramon-Taubadel trying to oppose corruption in sport, but I’m not sure where she’s up to.
And there’s a sports governance organization that organizations can sign up to, if they are actually anti-corruption.
PROMOTE RIGHTS
There are organizations set up to promote the rights of migrant workers, of women, of marginalized soccer players, of LGBTQ people. Help me find the best ones to support.
Help promote girls soccer for Soccer Without Borders.
Help promote LGBTQ rights in the U.S. through Lambda Legal.
Help promote LGBTQ rights worldwide through Outright International.
TURN SPORTSWASHING INTO RIGHTS WATCHING
We need advocacy groups to keep the pressure on for the month of the World Cup and for the years afterwards. Any ideas let me know.
We need to pressure Amnesty to continue this reporting from Qatar.
We need to pressure Human Rights Watch to continue these videos and this reporting from Qatar.