Should we start from the information about thousands of dead migrant workers that built Qatar’s “miracle” and sacrificed their lives for the construction of the new stadiums, no matter how ultra-modern they are?
Maybe from reports on inhuman working conditions for these migrant workers, many of whom got fired for daring to protest for this modern slavery and the unacceptable wages?
Should we start from the monstrous human rights violation driven by the Qatar regime and from the wealthy businessmen sustaining the country’s economy? Or from the legalization of homosexuality and the clear instructions by Qatari authorities to go after any person – homosexual or heterosexual – expressing themselves?
What about the money laundering of billions euros and dollars through large infrastructure projects and the effort to manipulate the average western audience by creating a positive image of authoritarian Qatar via football, a country with almost non-existent history in the development of the sport?
Should we talk about the role of FIFA, a multinational body which generates huge profits, acts as a so-called “state within a state”, and inks lucrative deals with large corporate and political institutions on the back, especially during the last few years, of an endless spree of corruption and scandals? Out of the 22 persons involved in the committee responsible for choosing the host country for the 2022 World Cup, only three are still at FIFA; in spring 2015 the FBI launched an investigation and brought charges against 12 persons, few of which were among the list of 22 – including two Greek names, without any involvement in Greece, Costas Takkas and Marios Lefkaritis.
Should we also touch upon FIFA’s efforts to expand the football product in every corner of our planet, an initiative that it wants to present as a charity project and not as a means to generate even bigger profits, given that “something that doesn’t expand, dies”?
We honestly don’t know where to start from. We don’t know what to write first with regards to this World Cup. Eight years ago, in 2014, our editorial for the 16th issue, driven by the affairs in large cities of Brazil before and during the World Cup (while we would be part of the sole protest outside the Brazilian embassy in Athens), read:
“Apart from all the moments we have cherished during World Cups, this competitions brings back childhood memories of spending a month every four years expressing our passion for football, watching games outdoors with friends and family while drinking beers or eating chips and cold lemonade or ice cream.
“World Cup also means evaluating and criticizing the changes in the way the sport is being played, the players’ behaviors, the dominant presence of sponsors, TV rights and advertising companies. Football has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. You can no longer find football players that act like anti-stars. Nobody will throw the ball vigorously in a referee’s face, nor will anyone headbutt his opponent or consider doing a meaningless but magical move like Rene Higuita’s scorpion kick save. Football is now all about tactics, physical skills and science; microchips planted in balls and shirts are some of the upcoming projects. Football has been homogenized as the once various and different playing styles of each country or continent have been merged into one flat pattern.
“While we will be watching the World Cup matches drinking beers with our friends, we will be setting our eyes on other channels or social media reading about non-football affairs that are much more important when they talk about human life and dignity (yes, as you see, back then we hadn’t considered how boycotting watching the games could be a good choice of personal resistance/protest).”
Fast forward eight years from then, not only we are not in the mood to elaborate on the evolution of the game and the physical condition of the players, but we won’t even bother watching a World Cup under such circumstances. How could you lay back and watch the footy in stadiums with modern air conditioning systems, which have been built on blood and dead corpses? How can you make fun with your friends with 15,000 families lost their loved ones in peacetime because they worked as slaves, while FIFA still refuses to sort out their compensation?
What else is left to be said? Should we say that Qatar could have lost its mandate for the World Cup (it’s happened in the past with Colombia in 1986), when its neighboring nations introduced hard sanctions against it? Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrein and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorist acts in the Middle East. The sanctions ended in January 2021 following the USA’s intervention, aiming at a united front against Iran. Speaking of Iran, FIFA never considered excluding the country from the competition despite the recent violent events. The excuse is always there; female football fans cannot even watch a football game in Iran.
Because we love sports and football in particular, we won’t watch anything. We don’t know what boycotting the World Cup means and what its actual impact might be? We definitely salute reactions by players, federations and fans who oppose this World Cup. Sepp Blatter’s acceptance that giving Qatar the mandate was wrong is a further testament to those opposing this year’s competition.
But what is the point in having a last-minute rebellion? Unfortunately, Qatar is not Brazil where opposition from the interior of the country would give us strength and encourage us. Power, politics and economics own the field in Qatar and they can act as they wish. Meanwhile, we are trying to whisper something, located thousands of miles away.
From our small corner as HUMBA! we have tried to do our part via our social media after realising that mainstream mass media or social media have not focused on the above issues. HUMBA! invites you to switch off your televisions. Don’t spend a single penny in anything World Cup-related activity. Not even on our once loved Panini stickers. See this month as an opportunity to support your local sports clubs. Play Subbuteo or table football with your friends, and if you’re still fit enough why not starting a 5X5 tournament with your friends and spend your halftimes arguing over Argentina, Uruguay and England’s failure (once again). Make this World Cup invisible, by not spending your money on gambling, TV subscriptions or clothes etc. We don’t need to click or tweet/post about Messi or Ronaldo on social media. We don’t need more “interesting and beautiful World Cup stories” on the internet. What we need is a collective approach to radically change the narrative around sports.
Let this World Cup go down in history, and mainly in our consciousness, as the most fraudulent and the most abhorrent event. And it’s with great pleasure that we don’t feel alone in this effort.
Until the next one then! There are already reports about the possibility of a joint venture of Saudi Arabia, Greece and Egypt to host the World Cup 2030. By then, many new stadiums should be ready (or maybe not). Regardless of that, they will face our opposition.
Stay strong…