DOES SPORTSWASHING WORK?

WRITTEN BY ROBBIE M

In 2019 (Year 7), I wrote an essay on the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Was Qatar fit to host the worlds’ greatest sporting tournament? I came to the conclusion that Qatar was in no way a suitable nation to stage the World Cup (WC), for three main reasons

Firstly, their appalling human rights record, no nation with these laws should ever host a WC (Source: Amnesty International Report 2021)

Secondly, Qatar’s lack of pedigree within the sport, compared to other past host nations, made it an odd decision

Finally, with the incredibly hot and humid playing conditions during summertime in Qatar, meant the WC was hosted in the cooler months, from 20th November-18th December This meant that club football around the world, which in the modern day has now become incredibly congested in terms of fixtures, had to be paused for a month. This has created a huge knock-on effect for clubs across the world, including increased player fatigue and injuries My great interest in this topic stems from my passion for the ‘beautiful game ’ . Did sportswashing work? Did it affect my enjoyment of the tournament?