I always seek to remain impartial, whatever I’m reporting on. Balance is key in writing, reporting, journalism, or whatever you want to call this. I know, I’m preaching, which is probably way above the station of a 17 year old, building a portfolio, and trying to make my way into the world of sports media, but my point is that whatever I produce, be that for my website, my social media, the podcast, or Pitch, I keep my own feelings, leanings and biases out of it and focus on the facts, whilst trying to capture the emotion of the event. But, as with when Derby were in administration, I feel my opinion can add value, and may resonate with people reading this.
Qatar 2022, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, is set to be a tournament like no other. The first to be held in the Middle East, and the first to be held in a Muslim country, this is exciting and feels like progress. It’s also almost certainly the last which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will play in, both stars looking to become a World Champion, and perhaps tip the GOAT debate in their favour. But as much as I am a football fanatic, my excitement levels aren’t where I’d expect them to be on the eve of a World Cup, and I want to explore why that is.
Ever since the right to host the 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar all the way back in 2010, there has been much controversy surrounding the decision to hold one of the world’s biggest sporting events in the tiny gulf state with vast wealth. From the start, there were allegations of corruption, for which the hosts were cleared in 2014. There have also been huge concerns regarding the country’s human rights record. In Qatar Homosexuality is illegal and the human rights group Amnesty International has long criticised Qatar for women's rights and the conditions the people building infrastructure for the tournament worked in. In 2014, Amnesty International ‘Identified nine key labour exploitation issues that Qatar should address urgently’, and a 2015 report found that none of the proposed reforms had been implemented a year on.
In 2016, the group accused Qatar of using forced labour at the Khalifa International Stadium. This is the venue for England’s opening match against Iran tomorrow.
And in terms of media freedoms, BBC journalists were Arrested for Reporting on Qatar’s World Cup Labourers in 2015, and Qatar were accused of imposing ‘chilling’ restrictions on media just last month.
I've not even touched on environmental concerns, or the fact that former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has recently called awarding the tournament to Qatar 'a mistake'.
And then there is FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s farcical opening monologue during a 90 minute press conference yesterday, in which he declared: "Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker." He also accused the west of ‘hypocrisy’ and compared the abuse these groups face to being bullied as a child because he had red hair and freckles. Infantino has received widespread condemnation. I can’t speak on behalf of any of the groups mentioned other than disabled people, and even then, I of course only speak for myself, but personally I feel that what he said was an insult, to the struggles of disabled people, and everyone else referenced. Bullying is awful, and should not be tolerated, but to compare it to the struggles that disabled people face every day to do things that the most take for granted, paints him as incredibly out of touch.
This is the president of an organisation that wants everyone to stick to football.
So why is it that I’m not as excited as usual? The issues outlined above certainly taint the tournament for me, but there were many things that happened in the build up to, and during the 2018 World Cup in Russia? Putin’s illegal occupation of Crimea had already been going on for over four years, for a start.
Is it because it’s in the winter? The top European leagues only paused a week ago, whilst the lower leagues continue. My team, Derby, are playing throughout the tournament, so some of my focus is on that rather than the World Cup taking up all of my spare time.
Is it media coverage? Due to the timing of the tournament, there seems to have been much less build up to what will happen on the pitch. Normally there’d be a 3 week break at the end of the season, I’d create some previews and predictions, perhaps buy a sticker book and a wall chart. I’ve only seen a preview of all 32 teams on my Twitter feed once, and not had the time to read it. I’ve not been fussed about the rest.
The understandable focus on the goings on off the pitch in Qatar has dominated the headlines, meaning I, for one, have seen less in the way of previews. That Cristiano Ronaldo interview, that was gradually drip fed to us over the best part of a week so that the publishers could maximise profits has also dominated football headlines.
Is it because, in the UK at least, the World Cup is competing with all of the usual events autumn/winter and Christmas build up for attention, as opposed to occurring in its usual summer slot? Perhaps I’m just more interested in how Jill Scott is doing in the jungle?
In truth, all of these things probably play a part. I set this up at the end of the Women’s Euros so that I had a platform for pieces that wasn’t limited by social media post character limits. At the time, the World Cup was one of my main reasons for that. If you’ve seen my Instagram page before (@jackbryanfootball) you’ll know that throughout both the most recent Men’s and Women’s Euros I produced a fair amount of coverage, over the past few weeks I have debated whether I want to do that for this tournament, especially with everything else I have going on now. It has been a dilemma, but I will still watch the World Cup, and create content around it, even if it’s less than for previous tournaments.
I know some people have chosen to boycott the tournament, and content related to it, and I completely respect that. Equally, I know times are tough right now, in the UK, and many other parts of the world, and football can bring people some much needed joy and escapism. Whatever your decision, I respect it, and just want you to know that if I flippantly tweet that It’s Coming Home in the next 4 weeks, I am not ignoring the issues surrounding the tournament.
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