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Is FIFA washing abuse beneath everyone’s eyes?
Millions are fixed on the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup, but are abuses being hidden beneath our very eyes?
At the Qatar World Cup, we’re seeing politics spill onto the global stage like never before. It is being broadcast for the world to see.
FIFA has been accused of sportswashing, as they seemingly turn a blind eye to human rights violations, masked by the roar of a World Cup.
“FIFA took this tournament in Qatar for the money. It didn’t weight up the cultural differences.”
thomas heenan, monash university
While sport is designed to unite, often it bring a country’s political issues with it.
The Qatar World cup in particular is highly controversial. It’s flooded with fears of corruption, human rights abuses, and the criminalisation of same-sex couples.
Many have accused FIFA of trying to ‘wash’ these concerns away, masked by a game.
“As soon as you hear an administrator say that sport and politics don’t mix, you know that sportswashing is going on.”
thomas heenan, monash university
