Press review World Cup Qatar 2022

Sources : The Guardian/ Forbes / CNN / BBC

Introduction :

With less than a few weeks before the World Cup in Qatar in November 2022, between corruption,
human rights and environmental damage, never in history has a World Cup been so much talked
about before it starts.

A very high economic cost

https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/industry/energy/oil-extends-gains-on-easing-omicron-concerns

56 billion dollars is the figure announced by the media FORBES concerning the budget of Qatar in
2022 for the organization of the World Cup.

56 billion dollars is only for this year because the organization cost a total of 220 billion dollars

Qatar main wealth comes from oil exports.

Qatar is betting big on this competition and is aiming big, "the most expensive World Cup in the
history of football", which is impressive.

The finance minister has said that the planned expenditure for 2022 has increased by 5% due to the
organization of the World Cup.

The finance minister has said that the planned expenditure for 2022 has increased by 5% due to the
hosting of the World Cup. A budget deficit of $2 billion is even expected, so Qatar plans to make
sacrifices and spend more than it earns.

Transition : As we all know, Qatar is one of the main natural gas exporting countries, which
facilitates all the controversies of the cup related to ecology and environment.

https://fr.statista.com/statistiques/565249/principaux-pays-en-termes-de-production-de-gaz-
naturel-au-monde-en/

Ecological and environmental problems

"Problematic" is the adjective given to the carbon footprint promises by the World Cup organisers in
the front page of The Guardian.

Indeed, the World Cup organisers affirmed a neutral carbon footprint, but after an investigation by
the organisation Carbon Market Watch (CMW), an analysis showed that the carbon footprint was 8
times higher than what was announced by Qatar.
The author of the CNW analysis Gilles Dufrasne even said, "It would be great to see the climate
impact of football World Cups drastically reduced but the claim of carbon neutrality being made is
simply not credible.

Moreover, as reported in another article in The Guardian, due to the high drought in the Gulf
countries, the lawns will have to be watered with at least 10,000 litres of water for each football
stadium.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/31/qatar-world-cup-criticised-for-problematic-
carbon-footprint-promises

Another criticism is that some stadiums are built only for the World Cup and will not be reused
afterwards. Added to this are the air-conditioned open-air stadiums which only increase the
country's carbon footprint.

Transition : Other social controversies are also being debated about this World Cup. This will be
discussed in our next section

Social problems

To build its many stadiums, Qatar has used migrant workers who have sometimes made their lives
miserable on the construction sites, and some have even been deported.

BBC reports that some 60 workers protested because they were not paid and had to be expelled
from the country for breaking public safety laws.

BBC also reports that 6,500 migrant workers have died in the past ten years, which attracted the
attention of human rights activists.

In addition to human rights, social rights are another issue. As CNN shows, the LGBT community is
being targeted. Homosexuality is currently illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
The relationship outside mariage will be prohibited during the competition.

According to CNN, 10 European football teams, including France, will participate in a "One Love"
campaign to fight against this discrimination. The main symbol of this protest will be a captain's
armband with a heart and the LGBT colours.

Denmark has proposed an all-black shirt in protest against the violation of human rights.

Manuel Neueur, captain of the German national team, said "Our love of football unites us all, no
matter where you come from.

Paris and Qatar

Finally, to end this press review with "irony", the city of Paris has decided to boycott the Qatar World
Cup fan zones. According to CNN, Paris is claiming social and environmental problems. However, the
Parisian club PSG was bought by Qatar in 2011.
The deputy mayor in charge of sports in Paris says that this event is not a model to promote for
major events in Paris. Some accuse the city of hypocrisy and say that its boycott is in contradiction
with their sporting principles.

Conclusion :

In conclusion, the organisation of the world cup in qatar has been the subject of a lot of controversies
concerning its ecological impact with its air-conditionned stadiums and its carboon footprint, its very
high financial cost and finally the social problems such as the violation of human rights and social
discrimination. Qatar has not finished talking about it, notably with its NEOM project, a futuristic city
by 2045 in which the 2029 Asian Olympic Games will take place.