Many of the people I know play or watch soccer on a regular basis; the sport has become a large part in the lives of many.
Qatar is everything that is wrong with soccer because they are in it for the money and the economic growth that they will receive from hosting the World Cup of Soccer.
Back in 2010, when the vote for the host country was held, FIFA (international governing body of association football) accepted bribes by Qatar to be the host country. When this was discovered, construction was already well on its way, making it too late to change what had been done other than remove those who accepted the bribes, such as the head of FIFA.
Since 2010, upwards of an estimated 6,500 migrant workers have died in the process of preparing the housing and stadiums to accommodate for 1.5 million people (about half the population of Qatar) coming to watch the tournament.
Upon arrival, some people were shocked to see just how poorly it was all built.
On top of all this, Qatar announced that any display of the LGBTQ+ community is an offence that could lead to three years in prison. Teams that had a captain’s rainbow armband that read “one love” had to remove the band or face yellow cards for those players and/or other sanctions.
These human rights violations will not stand in 2026 during the next world cup (hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. Voting for the following world cup needs to be properly looked over before it’s too late once again.
Makia Elliott is a qathet Regional District resident.
