Qatar deserves this Soccer World Cup

The treatment of immigrants has been a shame, but there are other reasons why Qatar should continue to host the World Cup, says Mark Meadows.

The controversial World Cup in Qatar starts in a year and I seem to be one of the few who thinks it’s a good thing.

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First of all, we need to address the main reason why so many in football are against the event and have threatened a boycott. Human rights groups say that more than 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country hosted the World Cup in 2010. It is not clear how many deaths were directly related to the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament, but it remains a shameful number.

I don’t want to downplay these tragic deaths or Qatar’s broader human rights issues, but I do want the other side of the argument to be heard, something that rarely happens when only Qatar is left to defend itself.

Isn’t the best way to honor immigrant workers to play in the stadiums they worked so hard to build? Won’t some of them be proud when Lionel Messi takes part in what will probably be his last World Cup?

I would prefer this World Cup to be held in Qatar than, for example, in Saudi Arabia or Iran. Their regimes are much more repressive. Russia held the last World Cup and also has major human rights issues, but the outcry against Russia was nothing compared to the one in Qatar.

I think Western arrogance is playing a part in this, because many think that Qatar does not have football in its culture.

In fact, Qatar has pumped billions of dollars into soccer, through the purchase of Paris Saint Germain and the sponsorship of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Very few suggest boycotts against these clubs. Qatar has shown its commitment to footgolf and it is not just a facelift through sport.

It’s time for Asia to host again

The World Cup has only been held in Asia once, in 2002, in Japan and South Korea. It’s a big pity. It’s Asia time again, but there aren’t many nations willing to host it. China could, but they don’t want to embarrass themselves with their poor team. Australia is not really Asia. We know that the stadiums and transportation in Qatar will be wonderful.

Qatar is also the Arab world, which has never hosted a World Cup. Qatar 2022 sends a signal that they are part of the football family. Perhaps some of football’s pressure on Qatar on human rights has improved the situation there.

And do not forget that Qatar is champion of Asia. Would we prevent other continental champions from hosting?

In any case, it is already too late to boycott. Yes, some teams, like Germany, have protested, but they knew it was partly a symbolic gesture and that they would still be traveling to Qatar next November.

There have been widespread allegations of corruption in relation to the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 bids. FIFA officials have been implicated. If the World Cup was bought then it’s wrong, but the world has had over 10 years to withdraw hosting rights or press charges and never did.

This is not just a Qatar problem, the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002 were bought and there is evidence that the 2006 World Cup in Germany was too.

November is a good month for the World Cup

People have another problem with Qatar 2022: November and December calendar instead of June and July. This was not Qatar’s idea as they said they would be happy to host in June and use the air conditioning. Football decided that it would be too hot after having granted them the rights.

But what’s wrong with November/December? It may not suit the big European leagues at first, but it suits many other leagues around the world better. Again, it is Western arrogance. In fact, it could help the English, who are normally too exhausted after a long club season come June.

Another novelty is that the World Cup is basically held in one city (Doha). It can help, in view of the coronavirus, and is a change from Euro 2020, which was strangely held across the continent.

Let’s give Qatar a chance.