SSY has already covered the world cup extensively earlier this year, and like all Scots we were also on the edge of our seats a few weeks ago, hoping and praying that England would not win the 2018 World Cup – despite the predictions of a certain deceased psychic octopus. Fortunately we were spared the inevitable comparisons to 1966 once every 3 seconds by Alan Hansen etc, and the rising power of Russia was able to claim victory as part of a bid that was based on tactical use of bribes and polonium sandwiches.

Sepp Blatter making sure those pesky gays don't steal his trophy

What’s not been in the news as much (probably cos it’s ages away) was Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup. Their victory was surprising given that Qatar have never successfully qualified for a World Cup and have a population of only 1.7 million, making them both smaller and even shiter at football than Scotland. The most likely reason Qatar was awarded the World Cup was to raise the profile of football in the Arab and Islamic world – similar to why the USA was awarded the tournament in 1994, to open a new market for the game.

Their bid’s already causing controversy though, 12 years before it’s due to start due to Qatar’s ban on homosexuality. Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president has a handy solution to any LGBT fans who travel to Qatar to see the game – don’t get up to any gay sex. Well that’s that sorted then. His comments have already understandably created fury among LGBT football associations who want the right for their members to travel and enjoy a World Cup without the fear of being jailed just for being gay.

It’s another controversy Blatter faces alongside Fifa’s rampant corruption and his blocking of goal line technology (though we’re actually ok with that, ball never crossed the line). The bottom line is despite Qatar’s abuse of human rights, Fifa are attracted by the big bucks the Qatari state can provide. Qatar is a booming gulf state, whose wealth is based on a combination of massive oil and gas resources, and virtual slave labour. Like other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries like Dubai, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar’s population is overwhelmingly made up of foreign workers. 37% of the population of the GCC states are made up of foreign workers and their families. 89% of Qatar’s workforce is made up of foreign workers who are paid abysmally in the construction of some of the most opulent and stunning buildings on earth.

Doha, Qatar. Brought to you by slave labour.

Alongside low paid workers, Qatar still has actual slavery. The USA has attacked Qatar for not doing enough to end human trafficking, which is punished with the same severity as selling booze (6 months in jail). This form of trafficking occurs when workers from Asia are recruited to work in projects in Qatar only to find that their wages and working conditions are worse than what was advertised. Their employers stop them from leaving by confiscating their passports – leaving them with no option but to stay in Qatar and work as virtual slaves.

Those Qataris (and European expats) who have got rich out of Qatar’s oil wealth and low paid labour are also free to take on and violently abuse servants without fear of jail or the law. Across all the GCC states there are frequent reports of maids being physically tortured by their employers. This isn’t just an Arab or an Islamic practice either, European expats in Qatar have also taken advantage of the states lack of the most basic workers rights to abuse their employees.

As SSY has previously covered, international sporting events – be it the Commonwealth Games or the World Cup – do not occur in a vacuum and they are not neutral. They are controlled by the billionaire states and multinational corporations for their own benefit, over and above the millons of people who want to enjoy the tournaments but find their homes or rights as workers in conflict with the hosts of the games. SSY hopes that by 2022 the LGBT fans and the workers in Qatar, who have already proven they can strike, will be able to enjoy the World Cup as equals and not slaves in a society where the gap between rich and poor would make Victorian Britain look egalitarian.