FIFA whitewashing accusation unsolved

Sema Fonkem 02/07/2023

Football fans around the globe have shown great support to the FIFA world cup tournaments ever since its first championship which took place in Uruguay from the 13^th to the 30^th of July 1930 but 2022 made a huge difference as whitewashing, an act of covering up human rights abuses through organising sporting events came to light during the Qatar world cup. 

In 2022, according to The Guardian publication over 6500 people who were mostly migrant workers building stadiums and other infrastructures to host the Qatar world cup had died due to extremely poor working conditions from 2010 to 2020. These figures were denied by the Qatari government which argued that only between 400 to 500 people may have lost their lives. Even though FIFA made so much money from this world cup tournament, up till date the organisation has not paid out compensation to all the families of migrant workers who lost their lives. It was also FIFA’s responsibility to ensure that the Qatari government adheres to the United Nations labour guidelines. More so, before FIFA approved Qatar to host the world cup, they knew that the laws of Qatar do not condone practices such as homosexuality. In Qatar, women and men do not have equal rights as women are not allowed to make major decisions that govern society. These red flags were ignored by FIFA. World cup preparations took over ten years but only two days before the competition, the Qatari government banned the sale of alcohol in stadiums after people had already bought their tickets and pay for accommodation to watch the World Cup matches. In a Spectrum publication FIFA had mentioned it was in negotiations with the Qatari government regarding alcohol sales but did not put up enough fight with them.

At the time of writing this article, I decided to speak to some individuals to hear their opinions on whitewashing in sports so I can share with my readers.

David Maseko, a diehard Manchester United fan said, “I think whitewashing is about financial gain because things are very expensive during football games and football teams use the famous players to make it look like everything is okay.”

 “I sometimes prefer just enjoying the game of soccer and not focus on the politics involved,” he added

Lira Bobape, A sports commentator said, ”I find it hard to believe that sports which is a tool for uniting people can be used so cheaply to cover up dirt.” 

She also goes on to say, “People who take part in sports corruption should be arrested and be punished.”

One of the main reasons why a country and its corrupt government will decide to invest in sports business is to give a positive image and divert public attention from their crimes against humanity. This act is called Whitewashing in sports adhrb.org.