Andrew Dickens: Qatar's money has taken their humanity

Andrew Dickens Afternoons

The debacle that was the awarding of the Football World Cup to Qatar is once again back in focus with the start of the tournament.

But make no mistake there's been controversy ever since the awarding of the tournament back in 2010.

The appointment turned heads. The smallest country to ever host the cup, the first Arab country. The first country to host the cup that had never qualified for the cup. A country with little football history. But a country with a lot of petro dollars

The appointment came as 2 FIFA officials were suspended due to allegations of corruption and money laundering. And the appointment process has been tainted ever since even though there is now concrete allegation as yet.

Immediately there was concern about human rights of the country's construction workers because they don't have any of their own.

Arab countries have long imported their labour from South East Asia, paying them little and taking their passports causing allegations of modern day slavery.

Meanwhile 10 years ago, the Guardian estimated that 4000 construction workers could die because Qatar's lax safety and employment history. As it turns out they under-estimated the number to die and to date it's closer to 6500.

So all this was predicted but the beginning of the tournament has still been fraught. Ambassadors for the cup have expressed religous disgust for the LGBTQ community. Journalists have been stopped and threatened. At the 11th hour beer was banned from the stadiums upsetting major sponsor Budweiser. At today’s game the Ecudorean fans started chanting WE WANT BEER. The entire Australian squad has signed an open letter criticising Qatar. Rod Stewart told us he turned down 2 million bucks to croon a tune. David Beckham has been shamed for taking the oil dollar. Tent camps have sprung up for the fans at 175 pounds a night to sweat it out under canvas in 40 degree heat. Others fly in jets to nearby Oman to find hotel beds in the middle of a climate crisis.

The whole thing is a mess and not an advertisement for the so called "Beautiful Game"

It's caused some people to say teams should boycott the tournament and that fans should not watch the games. Which is all too little too late. Where were you when this was all so obvious 12 years ago.

My hope is that Qatar hears the criticism and joins the 21st Century. Their money has taken their humanity. And FIFA’s. Football is a rich game enjoyed by the poor and all. Remember your roots.

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