Intolerant Qatar scores own goal
THIS week the English and Welsh footie teams arrived in Doha for the World Cup.
Yet from the moment the outrageously rich Arab nation won the rights to host Fifa’s biggest showpiece, people have been asking why.
Back in 2010 the Qataris didn’t have the stadiums or the infrastructure to put on world football’s biggest festival, and whoever heard of playing football in desert heat anyway?
The Qataris solved the problem by chucking loads of cash at the problem and, like all construction projects in the Gulf state, money was no object. Official figures say 37 workers died on projects directly related to building seven air-conditioned World Cup stadiums.
But that figure doesn’t even begin to tell the shocking story of the 6,500 South Asian migrant workers who’ve been killed on construction projects in the Gulf state since it “won” the World Cup.
People are calling for a boycott and it’s hard to argue with them, what with the Qataris’ shocking human rights record, strict anti-gay laws and medieval attitudes towards women.
Why should we let these unpleasant and disrespectful people bask in the glory of being at international football’s top table just because they have loads of cash? We shouldn’t.
But I don’t think the plan has worked – quite the opposite. Without the dubious decision to sell the World Cup to the highest bidder, millions of people would not know what a thoroughly backward and intolerant place Qatar is.
The Qataris have built 100 new hotels for the World Cup and I reckon once the final ball is kicked they might as well knock the lot down since, thanks to the spotlight they paid for, tourists aren’t going to be queuing up to visit.