Why Politics Should Not Overshadow the World Cup

 by Wilf Brown

“Please, let’s now focus on the football!” Gianni Infantino wrote, asking the 32 competing federations to “not allow football to be dragged into every ideological and political battle that exists.”

The controversy surrounding the World Cup being hosted in Qatar started in 2010, when Qatar was successful in its bid for the quadrennial competition amidst allegations of bribery and corruption. Since then, many people have spoken out against Qatar being awarded the tournament. 

The country has been criticised for many human rights concerns, including its treatment towards women, the LGBTQ+ community, and migrant workers. Many people from many countries joined together to express their exasperation at the latest World Cup destination. However, due to the extent of the media censorship in Qatar, citizens of Qatar are not as able to express their opinions, for fear of severe punishment. For example, same-sex intercourse is punishable by death. 

But controversially I don’t want to talk about that, instead I would like to celebrate all that is great about the World Cup.

As Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne recently said, “When you’re part of a World Cup, it’s always now, or never.” Many countries have already discovered that it is “never” for them, such as Qatar and Canada, who’s untimely exits finished without a single point in the group stages. Conversely, one country that is “riding high” on the “now” wave, is Morocco. Their World Cup fairytale has not only seen them become the first ever African nation to reach the semi-finals, but also knocking out Goliaths such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way. 

Another team riding the “now” rollercoaster of the World Cup is Croatia. The teamwork and organisation of an ageing Croatian team against the bombast and arrogance of an unquestionably talented group of Brazilians showed the importance of team over the individual. 

Furthermore, this World Cup has marked the grand finale for some of the so-called Galacticos of football. Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, Modric, and Neymar will all never again appear on the world’s biggest stage. It is greatly considered as being both collectively and individually their “last dance”.

The World Cup can also have an enormous impact on a country’s national outlook, both economically and socially. For example, a country that has succeeded in winning the World Cup has a boost to its GDP of 0.5%-1% in its first year post victory. 

I do believe that if politics remained in the shadows during the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, where in my opinion even more extreme human right casualties took place, Qatar should perhaps not be the only hosts lambasted for their politics. The Argentinian dictatorship used the World Cup as a means of hiding the true atrocities that were actually happening in Argentina. This is a term known as “sportswashing”, which can also be easily related to the “Hitler Olympics” in 1936, where even British athletes were encouraged to give the Nazi salute. 

Put simply, football matters.

Whilst we all accept that Qatar was a questionable choice of location and was no doubt chosen under dubious and illegal circumstances, I believe that we must not allow it to completely overshadow what has been, and always will be, an outstanding spectacle of global football greatness throughout the years.