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USMNT to use rainbow logo in training facility

- Lorenzo Reyes

The U.S. men’s national soccer team will showcase rainbow team logos at its training facility and media center in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup in a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

The logo features the traditiona­l shield but has seven different colors in vertical stripes that represent the rainbow. It is part of the team’s “Be The Change” social justice initiative it adopted in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd.

“When we are on the world stage and when we are in a venue like Qatar, it is important to bring awareness to these issues and that is what ‘Be The Change’ is about,” coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday at a news conference.

“It is not just stateside that we want to bring attention to social issues, it is also abroad. We recognize that Qatar has made strides and there has been a ton of progress, but there’s some work still to do.”

This comes as many LGBTQ+ soccer fans and their allies worldwide have been mulling whether to attend the tournament, or even watch it on television.

It also comes as former Qatari national team player Khalid Salman, an ambassador for the event, described homosexual­ity as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German public broadcaste­r ZDF.

Qatar’s laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQ+ people are flash points in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, or in any Arab or Muslim country. Qatar has said all are welcome, including LGBTQ+ fans, but that visitors should respect the nation’s culture, in which public displays of affection by anyone are frowned on.

Qatari law calls for a prison sentence of one to three years for whoever is “instigatin­g” or “seducing” a male to “commit sodomy,” as well as for “inducing or seducing a male or a female in any way to commit illegal or immoral actions.”

Players, entire clubs, soccer executives, and activists all over the globe have sharply criticized FIFA and Qatar over the lack of protection and visibility being offered to LGBTQ+ fans.

“It’s a sign of our values and what we represent as a men’s national team in U.S. Soccer and we are a group that believes in inclusivit­y and will continue to project that message going forward,” goalkeeper Sean Johnson said Monday.

The rainbow logo badge will not be worn during matches, per Reuters.

Additional­ly, a new report from an internatio­nal human rights research group, Equidem, found that migrant workers constructi­ng stadiums for the FIFA World Cup continue to endure labor exploitati­on and human rights violations despite recent reforms in the country.

About 1.2 million internatio­nal visitors are expected in Qatar for the tournament, which begins Sunday.

 ?? JEFF DEAN/AP ?? The United States soccer logo celebrated Pride Month.
JEFF DEAN/AP The United States soccer logo celebrated Pride Month.

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