Negrin Sanchez 1

Ana Negrin Sanchez

Ceren Usta

WRT 102

4 April 2023

Word Count: 2514

World Cup: The People’s Competition or Competition for the People

Millions of people, from all over the world, gather around their screens in their homes,

local pubs, schools, and more to watch the most celebrated soccer competition every four years.

The FIFA World Cup is a tradition for many and the career goal for any professional or aspiring

soccer player. Countries from all over the world compete in the preliminaries for a spot in the

actual competition, as it is an honor to represent one's country and an even higher honor to host

the event. Since the inception of the competition in 1930, every world cup has been presented by

a new country each time; it is a symbolic opportunity that is forever embedded into the history of

the nation. Attracting mass tourism, widespread publicity, and creating new advances for the

country, it is a highly sought after position that various countries compete for through bidding,

almost a decade before the event's occurrence. Emphasized throughout this research is the Qatar

2022 World Cup, for it is an all-encompassing example of all the sectors explored such as the

impacts on economy, social welfare, and the environment. Therefore, what are the impacts of

world-renowned competitions on their host countries in these various areas?

It all begins during the bidding war which is in charge of most of the impacts before the

first brick on a new stadium is placed. During the bidding stage, the FIFA organization has the

chance to consider its various prospects and within those conversations, consider the

stakeholders that will be discussed here further. However, many have taken advantage of that
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power, unbeknownst to the public, and used internationally recognized events such as the World

Cup as a product, to bid off, to sell in exchange for political capital, information, or votes.

Although one could argue for the unnecessary nature of these events, they are an essential part

of, above anything else, bridging communities and breaking boundaries, however, reforms within

its various systems have to occur in order to return the power to the audiences and start to protect

their rights. Reforms include reworking FIFA’s internal structure by appointing a new ethics

committee with members from outside sources to unbiasedly judge, manage, and patrol the

claims and working conditions. Additionally, advocating for sustainable options, in terms of

infrastructure, byway of reusing stadiums and limiting the capacities would highly benefit local

workers and the environment. Not only would human rights be prioritized but the mass amount

of pollution from travelers to and in these places would be largely reduced; although the

economy would not benefit as much from these changes, it would be a progressive effort for the

actual host countries to take precedence over international wants. Any event that risks human

lives and threatens to harm people and our world should not be allowed to take place without

changes. Thus, the eligibility and efficacy of the competition as a whole and whether it should be

allowed to take place, needs to be discussed.

Within this process, the economies of countries are highly affected, relying on the

oversimplified promises that the World Cup will bring economic growth when in reality, the

stability of the nation is challenged, especially in developing countries. Countries must balance

honor with risk before deciding to embark on this undertaking, as “for developed countries with

infrastructure, stadiums…prudently managed events can potentially produce a net profit” (Bray

101). Qatar ranks as one of the richest countries in the world; along with their investments their

wealth largely comes from their supply of oil reserves. Consequently, the profits made from the
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competition are not indispensable as they would be for other economies. Qatar estimated the

World Cup would “add as much as $17 billion to its economy” (Foxman and Ismail). However,

because of its controversial roles, highly inaccessible costs for fans, and tremendous

infrastructure expenses it will be doubtful whether this occurs. It is because of Qatar’s

indifference towards the profits for the country, that makes it a dangerous example of how

governments can and are taking advantage of their resources and not considering other sectors

such as social or environmental impacts. On the other hand, with Brazil, “the cost of the 2014

World Cup there ballooned as the country needed to construct new roads, transit lines, stadiums

and hotels. Estimates suggest that $11.6 billion was spent on that tournament” (Geeter). Brazil is

among many developing countries, with its incomparable larger size and scarce resources; it

should be in the highest of interests for these countries to devote their funds to projects that will

aid its citizens and the economy. However, hosting major events like the World Cup in 2014 and

the Summer Olympics in 2016 is arguably not the answer.

The issue of social welfare has numerous subtopics within its realm; it poses the most

complex argument yet for the efficacy of the World Cup. To examine the aftermath of a

competition of this size through a social lens, subjects such as human rights violations, cultural

awareness and promotion, threats on livelihoods, and social and political unrest/disagreement

must be explored further. Amidst the Qatar 2022 controversy generating mass amounts of

publicity, it became impossible to overlook the staggering statistics and evidence surrounding the

increasing cases of human right violations. This goes further into the exploitative system within

Qatar that heavily depends on migrant workers, the Kafala System. As Khan explains, this

system is built on false promises or compromises between workers and their sponsors (kafeels);

workers’ identities are stripped away, they're unable to visit their home countries, and have to
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pay for their own provisions that should be supplied, all while working in arduous conditions.

Given these types of systems, how is an ethical and efficient competition of this magnitude

supposed to run, while maltreating and making profits off of foreign workers? It has been

reported that “more than 6,500 workers…have died in Qatar since it won the right to host the

World Cup 10 years ago” (Pattisson and McIntyre). Qatar’s death toll, which are mainly younger

workers, is being suspiciously and maliciously justified by FIFA’s committees as “‘non-work

related’” (Pattisson and McIntyre) deaths, but given contradictory evidence and anecdotes, this

further implicates the organizations involvement in hiding the true effects of their projects. Often

these workers are the sole or main providers for their families in other countries and without

constant contact, their families have to rely on the excuses made to cover up their loved ones’

death and having no power to refute these corporations. However, Qatar is not the only host

country to have reports such as these; in the making of Russia’s World Cup in 2018, it was

reported that “at least 21 workers died in stadium construction…’most of these deaths were

because of falls from heights or because of heavy equipment falling on workers’” (Worden). The

sustainability policies and protection plans released before these competitions to settle social

unrest are often nullified by the unsafe conditions workers are subjected to. Alike Qatar where

workers had to work in harsh environments with severe weather circumstances, we again

consider these impacts on families and societies, and the potential intrinsic argument of viewers

and attendees: either caving into the FIFA platform, enjoying the purposefully spectacular

stadiums and captivating games or acknowledging the actual costs for entertainment are people’s

lives.

The effects on communities and its citizens not only occur in these severe levels, but

families are also struggling to maintain their livelihoods and be able to provide for themselves,
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during the times of World Cups or other major competitions; these are not seen as thriving times

for smaller businesses but instead times of survival. As Hummel explores within their research,

an informal worker includes poor citizens; informal workers and street vendors who are usually

not registered to work or maintain accepted tax or social security procedures struggle the most

during these events (30). Informal workers are forced to bribe officials to bypass the strict rules

of vending surrounding the World Cup for unofficial businesses; they “routinely influence

officials with money, either by bundling many bribes into a considerable sum for one official…or

by offering small bribes to low-level officials” (Hummel 31). This depicts the extent to which

locals in their own communities have to risk or spend their limited resources in order to make a

profit; instead competitions such as these should facilitate plans to highlight these businesses or

at least work with the local population.

Prioritizing environmental preservation through implementing and successfully following

sustainability practices should always be of utmost importance when delivering these

monumental events; the future of the buildings made and surroundings that are disturbed as a

result of a combination of factors should be kept in mind. Firstly, the building of stadiums has

been a widely disputed topic, most host countries build a multitude of stadiums with enormous

capacities; the stadiums over the decades aim to surpass each other in their technology,

infrastructure, and aesthetic. As a result, there have been a plethora of “white elephants” left

behind after the conclusion of the games. White elephants refer to costly stadium projects used

for short periods of time after their creation. For example, in Brazil, “a sprawling 72,000-set

monstrosity built for the World Cup 2014…ended up costing $900 million, three times its

original budgeted price, making it the world’s second-most expensive soccer venue” (Wahl). It is

not only the price tags of these inventions that worry the public, but it is the unseen problem that
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costs the most long-term, and that is its emission outputs. Even while being aware of the amount

of resources required and carbon footprint generated to build these enormous structures, Qatar

and the FIFA corporation released their ambitious mission for a “fully carbon-neutral” event in

2022, claiming that all of its plans would be in line with “Qatar’s national development goals”

(Sustainability). However, Qatar’s goals will only be reached through carbon offsets, which are

not equivalent to a true “fully carbon-neutral event” but instead another marketing ploy to

reassure viewers and activists on their practices. This strategy is called greenwashing. Boykoff

summarizes greenwashing as a “public display of concern for the environment and an inclination

to claim credit for providing solutions while doing the bare minimum”. It is within these

“solutions” promoted to aid environmental problems that carbon offset programs are introduced;

they are a means whereby corporations can excuse their own carbon footprint by

purchasing/investing in projects aimed at reducing emissions, essentially “canceling out” their

own damage. Qatar’s carbon offset program, Global Carbon Council (GCC), has thus far

approved projects in Turkey and Serbia for wind and hydroelectric plants, whose construction

will arguably pose more damage than resolution to other event’s emissions (Mandard). Is it

enough?

Although eight stadiums, ranging from 44,000 to 89,000 in capacity, were built, the most

notable is Stadium 974. It is an innovative effort that was realized “entirely from shipping

containers…Not only is 974 the international dialing code for Qatar, but it is also the exact

number of shipping containers used in construction” (Stadium 974). This is a step towards

creating long-term and truly repurposable stadiums, as all of the containers will be reused for

developments with facilities for the local community, with possibilities such as these for future

World Cup stadiums, the white elephants can at last be of meaningful use. Along with Stadium
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974, Qatar explained the intended legacies of all of their arenas; however, are these efforts

enough? The true damage to our environment is one we can’t see, and while repurposing

materials is a vital start for these events to give back to the planet, it is important to emphasize

the amount of emissions released from all of these undertakings, beneficial or not.

Thus, the impact of a world-renowned competition, like the World Cup, on its respective

host nations is negative, and the systems on which these foundations and core principles are built

on are corrupt. It is imperative to educate readers and reveal the realities that occur beyond

FIFA’s proposed sustainability plans or Qatar’s plan for carbon offsets, and most importantly,

bring awareness to viewers and sponsors of the human tragedies that should not be allowed to

keep happening. When does it cross the line? When do we demand change? When do we see

results?
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