By Vihaan Majumdar
The golden trophy is the most coveted trophy in the world, and only comes once every four years for billions of viewers to enjoy and the best soccer players in the world to play for. But the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar, is already staking a claim to be the most controversial in modern history.
FIFA has long held a reputation for being corrupt, and giving the World Cup to Qatar 10 years ago did nothing to play down that widely held belief. The Qatari government is well known for its terrible human rights record, and it’s reported that the preparation for the World Cup has already cost the lives of around 6,500 migrant workers, and there is wide speculation that this is an underestimate. English legend and pundit Eric Cantona announced he would not watch this edition of the World Cup, decrying Qatar as “not the country of football” citing Qatar’s human rights’ record and accusing the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar as being “only about the money.”
Another issue that has arisen is the time of the tournament. While international tournaments have typically been held during the summer, this tournament was moved to November and December due to Qatari weather conditions. This caused an issue with club leagues, who typically run in the September-May window, with brief international breaks. But FIFA has not budged.
Despite the controversy, it is still expected that hundreds of millions of viewers will be consistently watching. It is widely speculated that this will be the last dance for stars such as Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Hugo Lloris, and Cristiano Ronaldo (although Portugal has not yet officially qualified). It remains to be seen how this World Cup will compare to previous ones.
