The Inescapable Politics of Sport: Looking to the Future of the World Cup

Stadium construction in the most recent world cup has been a point of significant controversy. Photo by Heo Manjin and the Republic of Korea, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

This past December saw the FIFA World Cup, the preeminent competition in global soccer, reemerge. For over a month, the quadrennial tournament dominated global conversations as billions sat in front of their screens cheering for their nations and favorite players. Audiences watched as Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals, as players like Kylian Mbappe proved they were on track to become the future of soccer, and as Lionel Messi seized his long-awaited global trophy, securing his place as one of the greatest players of all time. The 2022 FIFA World Cup was a spectacular financial success for FIFA as well as for its host, the nation of Qatar, which was introducing itself to the global stage. Despite these successes, the event was riddled with controversy from the initial bid to the end of the tournament itself. For many foreign workers, LGBTQ fans, and human rights advocates, the World Cup was a tragedy as thousands had their voices stifled or even died in its orchestration. With conversations around the hosting rights of the 2030 World Cup as well as other major events such as the 2036 Summer Olympics beginning, it is now essential that fans make their voices heard and call for greater accountability across global sports to protect human rights and advocate against oppression.

FIFA and its premier World Cup event have been clouded by controversy for decades. Every World Cup host in the past 20 years has been accused of corruption in the bidding process, including a range of countries from Germany to South Africa who have been accused of bribing the members of FIFA’s Executive Committee to win their respective bids for hosting rights. During the selection of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, a unique confluence of events and backroom deals exploded into the public view as Russia and Qatar collaborated to push their respective bids to host the event. Their collaboration instigated a massive cross-Atlantic probe into FIFA and corruption within the organization. These investigations led to the prosecution of multiple FIFA executives and eventually forced the resignation of longtime FIFA President Sepp Blatter, as well as an investigation into possibly rescinding the bids of Russia and Qatar. Though the final report, which was also clouded by controversy, did not call for the repeal of Russia and Qatar’s bids, it did find irregularities and concerns surrounding suspicious interactions between FIFA Executive Committee members and government officials from both Russia and Qatar, as well as large transfers of money between various officials that should require further inquiries. 

This investigation culminated in a revamping of FIFA’s internal voting systems and a reform program that sought to expunge the organization’s record of corruption and misdeeds. This included democratizing the voting system on World Cup bids by providing every country’s soccer association with a vote, rather than just the 25 members of the FIFA board. Despite these reforms, the worlds of politics and sport soon collided as Russia and Qatar insisted on pursuing their bids. Russia, which has a long history of human rights abuses, continued to push legislation against LGBTQ rights and bring in foreign workers, placing them into dangerous and even deadly construction sites to build the new stadiums necessary to host the tournament. And of course, Russia also sparked massive global outcry in 2014 when it illegally annexed Crimea. Despite these controversies, FIFA allowed the tournament to go through in Russia, and soon everything was largely forgotten by the public in favor of the captivating final between Croatia and France. 

Last year’s World Cup followed a very similar trajectory with early concerns over human rights, which quickly evolved into a larger controversy regarding the treatment of LGBTQ fans and foreign workers in Qatar. As more details emerged, the story grew increasingly disheartening as FIFA went to great lengths to protect the Qatari bid from any consequences, despite huge logistical concerns and political controversies regarding Qatar’s organization of the tournament. The absurdity of hosting a traditional summer event in a country that regularly averages over 100 degrees in the summer led FIFA to shift the timing of the entire tournament to the winter, forcing national leagues across the planet to disrupt their own schedules. Then there were the thousands of deaths of foreign workers from South Asia who were brought in to construct the new stadiums necessary for the tournament. Reports indicate that not only did these workers suffer dangerous working conditions, but that many who attempted to leave the country were trapped as companies seized their passports. 

As these allegations emerged, the Qatari government’s hardline stance on gay rights stoked further controversy prompting significant concerns for the safety of LGBTQ fans attending the tournament. This situation further exploded as FIFA chose to follow the government’s hardline stance and announced that it would actively punish players and national teams for showing support for LGBTQ rights through the wearing of “OneLove” armbands. Just as it supported the Russian government in 2018, FIFA stood by the Qatari government over the course of the tournament, which culminated in a final match that has been widely regarded as one of the best of all time. Though further political machinations continued over the course of the tournament, FIFA was largely able to silence any remaining controversy. In the months following the event, just like the 2018 World Cup, the global public has largely forgotten about the controversies and deaths associated with the tournament. The Qatari government—in the midst of these controversies— has not only enjoyed the economic benefits of thousands of fans coming into the country but has also leveraged its success to make prospective bids for future sporting events including potentially the 2036 Olympics.

Now as global sports look towards deciding the locations of the next decade of major events, it is pivotal that fans first do not forget what happens when host countries are not held accountable and second, call for sporting agencies to take more action. In recent years, there has been a push to separate politics and sports, to have players stick to their game, and let fans enjoy games away from current events. Yet, the inescapable reality is that politics and sports are deeply intertwined and cannot be separated. FIFA repeatedly provided cover for both the Qatari and Russian governments’ bad behavior and in doing so leveraged soccer fans as political tools to provide positive news and economic benefits for the respective governments. These sporting events run on the money of fans, and thus they should be driven by the values of fans and of the players on the field and their voices should be heard. The money of fans should not be used to support the economies of authoritarian regimes nor should their support of the sport be used to cover up violations of human rights. As sporting agencies begin taking bids for future contests it is essential that fans push for their local sports organizations to take into account political realities when making billion-dollar decisions. Organizations should not reward bad behavior with major contracts, and if they are unwilling to take a stand on the matter then there must be a greater global reckoning of who is valued, whose life is worth remembering from these events, that billions will cheer at.    

Karun Parek is a Junior Editor for CPR. He is a junior studying Political Science, Economics, and History. You can find him wandering across New York looking for the best coffee and talking about the need for better public transit in America. He is from Crossville, Tennessee.