![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image_2022-11-23_114340799-696x403.png\" "\\"The")
\nCatherine Ivill\/Getty Images Europe\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
With the World Cup now underway in Qatar, many are wondering how this moment arrived \u2013 that a tiny Gulf nation with little footballing history ended up hosting the biggest event the sport has to offer.<\/p>\n
Qatar had never previously appeared at a World Cup tournament \u2013 let alone staged one \u2013 and became the first host nation to lose the opening game of the tournament with\u00a0a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador\u00a0on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s World Cup debut was 12 years in the making, a period in which Qatar\u2019s host status has stirred controversy within the footballing community and beyond.<\/p>\n
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\u2018New lands\u2019<\/h2>\n
When Qatar was named as host of the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, it was selected ahead of bids from the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia.<\/p>\n
During the bidding process, it faced several obstacles as FIFA, football\u2019s governing body, flagged concerns in technical reports. Those included a lack of existing infrastructure and the region\u2019s intense heat in the summer, when World Cup tournaments are traditionally held.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the reports even went as far as to label Qatar\u2019s bid as \u201chigh risk,\u201d but the country nevertheless triumphed with 14 votes to USA\u2019s eight in the final round of balloting.<\/p>\n
At the time, Qatar promised to make the world \u201cproud of the Middle East\u201d as the first country from the region to host the tournament, while then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter welcomed the prospect of football\u2019s showpiece event going to \u201cnew lands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a happy president when we speak of the development of football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Twelve years later, Blatter is\u00a0more critical.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, he told Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger: \u201cQatar is a mistake \u2026 the choice was bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is too small of a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blatter said FIFA amended the criteria it used to select host countries in 2012 in light of concerns over the working conditions at tournament-related construction sites in Qatar.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With a\u00a0population of three million, smaller than that of Connecticut, Qatar has invested billions in its football infrastructure in preparation for the 2022 tournament.<\/p>\n
But questions about just how Qatar won the right to stage the World Cup continue.<\/p>\n
As recently as March 2020, the US Department of Justice alleged that bribes were accepted by top officials as part of the voting process to elect Russia and Qatar as the tournament host for the 2018 and 2022 events \u2013 claims Russian officials denied and Qatari officials called \u201cfalse\u201d in a statement to CNN.<\/p>\n
The DOJ has been investigating allegations of corruption in international soccer, including FIFA, for years. To date, there have been more than two dozen convictions and some cases are ongoing.<\/p>\n
A statement from FIFA in April 2020 said it \u201csupports all investigations into alleged acts of criminal wrongdoing regarding either domestic or international football competitions and will continue to provide full cooperation to law enforcement officials investigating such matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cFIFA is closely following these investigations and all related developments in the legal processes ongoing in the United States and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to point out that FIFA has itself been accorded victim status in the US criminal proceedings and senior FIFA officials are in regular contact with the US Department of Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
FIFA was handed victim status by US prosecutors as they viewed football\u2019s world governing body as having been almost hijacked by a number of corrupt individuals.<\/p>\n
Human rights criticism<\/h2>\n
Qatar\u2019s human rights record has also been in the spotlight ahead of the World Cup, particularly around\u00a0the welfare of migrant workers.<\/p>\n
Given the minimal infrastructure Qatar had in place at the time it was awarded the hosting rights to the World Cup, seven new stadiums have been erected ahead of the tournament, as well as new hotels and expansions to the country\u2019s airport, rail networks and highways.<\/p>\n
That has placed a reliance on Qatar\u2019s migrant workers, who account for 90% of the total workforce, according to Amnesty International.<\/p>\n
Since 2010, many migrant workers have respectively faced delayed or unpaid wages, forced labor, long hours in hot weather, employer intimidation, and an inability to leave their jobs because of the country\u2019s sponsorship system, human rights organizations have found.<\/p>\n
However, Qatar\u2019s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said the health, safety and dignity of \u201call workers employed on our projects has remained steadfast,\u201d with \u201csignificant improvements\u201d made around workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also told CNN Sport\u2019s Amanda Davies that he has seen \u201cgreat evolution\u201d in Qatar\u2019s labor reforms, and the International Labor Organization has noted reformes like a non-discriminatory minimum wage that Qatar is the first in the region to adopt.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Qatar\u2019s\u00a0state-backed discrimination against LGBTQ people\u00a0has also been criticized in the years leading up to the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Sex between men is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison in the country, and a report from Human Rights Watch, published last month, documented cases as recently as September of Qatari security forces arbitrarily arresting LGBT people and subjecting them to \u201cill-treatment in detention.\u201d<\/p>\n
A statement sent to CNN on behalf of the SC said it was committed to \u201can inclusive and discriminatory-free\u201d World Cup, pointing to the fact that the country had, it said, hosted hundreds of international and regional sporting events since being awarded the World Cup in 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has never been an issue and every event has been delivered safely,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is welcome in Qatar, but we are a conservative country and any public display of affection, regardless of orientation, is frowned upon. We simply ask for people to respect our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most obvious sign that this World Cup is different to most has been the decision to stage it in November and December, rather than June and July as is the norm.<\/p>\n
Sweltering heat during the summer months in Qatar has necessitated the switch, although temperatures are still forecasted to rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) later this week.<\/p>\n
Other changes to the organization of the tournament have been rather more last-minute.<\/p>\n
On Friday, FIFA announced that\u00a0no alcohol would be sold at the stadiums, and then on Monday, captains from seven countries were warned they would\u00a0receive yellow cards if they wore armbands promoting inclusion and opposing discrimination.<\/p>\n
FIFA announced earlier on Monday that it had brought forward its \u201cNo Discrimination\u201d campaign \u2013 which also has a designated armband \u2013 adding that \u201call 32 captains will have the opportunity to wear this armband\u201d during the World Cup.<\/p>\n
FIFA\u2019s equipment regulations state that \u201cfor FIFA final competitions, the captain of each team must wear the captain\u2019s armband provided by FIFA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Time will tell what the legacy of this World Cup will be, but if the past few days, months, and years are anything to go by, it is likely to be complicated and controversial.<\/p>\n
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