Guest contribution by Regina Spöttl – Sports washing like at the World Cup in Qatar must never happen again

Out of! Ending! Over! Argentina is soccer world champion, but the German team left the tournament unintentionally early and started their journey home before the round of 16.

Before that, however, the German team was the only team in the field of 32 participating nations to set an example for human rights in Qatar.

Mouth-to-mouth gesture by the German team: applause at home

The team photo, in which all German players positioned themselves with their hands in front of their mouths against Fifa’s restriction of the right to freedom of expression in connection with the ban on the “One Love” captain’s armband, met with incomprehension on site. The symbolism of the hand in front of the mouth – for us a sign for “muzzle” – was taken as an affront and ridiculed.

The reactions from Germany were completely different. Several representative surveys yielded surprising results: More than half of all respondents found the campaign by the German national team to be good and appropriate and would have liked the DFB and the team to be even more committed to upholding human rights in Qatar. These encouraging figures prove that people in this country understand that human rights and sport belong together.

Washing the image clean through sport is unacceptable

Not only in Qatar, but in the entire Gulf region and beyond, the observance of human rights must be incorporated into the procurement processes and contracts as an indispensable prerequisite and must be actively monitored and demanded. Sportswashing, i.e. the targeted exploitation of sporting events to cleanse one’s own image, must no longer be tolerated.

Another blatant example of sports washing alongside the World Cup in Qatar is the Dakar Rally, which, contrary to its title, has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. Last year, the racers’ route led just a few hundred meters past the prison south of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, where Loujain al-Hathloul, a human rights defender who spent years fighting for the end of the women’s driving ban and campaigned for more rights for women in the country.

Human rights decisive when awarding major events

It must be the task of all sports federations worldwide in the future to conduct a thorough assessment of the risks to human rights and to develop clear action plans to prevent potential violations of all candidates who apply to host a major sporting event. If the identified risks cannot or do not want to be prevented, the organizers should not award the tournament. Sports washing must not be tolerated.

These demands should long ago have been transferred to other organizers of major sporting events. The list of major sporting events that have been and will be held in Qatar includes the Doha Diamond League athletics meeting since 2010, the 2015 Handball World Championships, the 2016 Road Cycling World Championships, the 2018 Gymnastics World Championships, the Athletics World Championships 2019 and the 2024 World Swimming Championships.

In addition, there are already established annual Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE in the Gulf region. In addition, word has already got around that Saudi Arabia is probably trying to host the 2030 World Cup. And Qatar has already put itself in a new promising position. Qatar wants the Olympic Games in 2036. The associated Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum in Doha already exists.

In view: Asian Winter Games 2029 in Saudi Arabia

The states of the Gulf region are following suit and Saudi Arabia has already been awarded the contract to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. The “Trojena” ski area, which has not yet been built, should be ready in 2026 and after the competitions it will become a ski resort that can be used all year round. Another project, the megacity “The Line”, the heart of the planned city NEOM, should be able to accommodate nine million inhabitants in a 170-kilometer building along the Red Sea.

Realizing these ambitious visions will quickly turn the spotlight on Saudi Arabia. In the country, human rights NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have been documenting the most serious violations of human rights for decades, a three-digit number of executions per year, often after grossly unfair trials, severe torture and ill-treatment in prison and few rights for the women who live have to ask their male guardians for permission if they want to study or get married and apply for custody of their children.

Homosexuality punishable, women severely disadvantaged

The LGBTI community must also arm itself: homosexuality is a criminal offense and carries prison sentences. The situation of migrant workers on construction sites and in private households is also comparable to the situation in Qatar. While Qatar’s 2017 labor law finally gives women legal protection and assistance, Saudi Arabia’s labor law still leaves women untouched.

We’ll still experience some déjà vu, but maybe we’ll be better prepared than before when it comes to sportswashing.

And what happens in Doha after the final? After the floodlights went out on December 18, 2022, migrant workers will have to come again and dismantle some of the magnificent stadiums. Now it will be seen whether our long-standing campaign against human rights violations and for better living and working conditions for migrant workers in Qatar will bear fruit in the long term.

Where is the compensation fund for guest workers?

The Qatar labor law of 2017, drawn up in cooperation with the ILO, gives hope, as does the (hopefully final) abolition of exit visas and clearance certificates for more freedom of movement.

But where is the promised “Legacy Fund” from which all workers and their families are to be compensated who have been injured or whose relatives have died?

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice said: “By changing course, Fifa could make a lasting difference in the lives of the true heroes of this World Cup. A refusal to do so would be a terrible indictment of FIFA and its commitment to workers’ rights.”

The work of migrant workers in Qatar – but also in the entire Gulf region and beyond – must be recognized and not forgotten in the future: this is our challenge for the future. We must not and will not lose sight of Qatar even after December 18, 2022.