Opinion: I will be watching the World Cup – DW – 11/19/2022

Are you watching the World Cup? This seemingly innocuous question has become one of the most divisive of the moment. Where once it was taboo to talk about politics and religion at the dinner table, right now it is football that is off-limits. Relatives, friends and colleagues are divided on the matter — wondering whether they should watch the matches, ignore the whole tournament, or even go out to protest.

Is it still OK to watch the World Cup despite all the controversy? Is it morally wrong to get carried away and cheer on the players?

German football fans reject World Cup

Public opinion in the stadiums of Germany seems to be unanimous. There has been a general rejection of the World Cup in Qatar. In recent weeks, many fans have drawn attention to themselves with banners and posters, denouncing deaths among migrant workers and homophobic legislation in Qatar. This is quite right.

For many critics, Qatar symbolizes even more: The dangerous path that modern football has taken. Sheiks and sportswashing, dubious investors, corruption, and the selling of football’s soul. There is good reason to reject all of this and I understand that.

But to ignore the football completely? As if the biggest sports event in the world were not taking place? There was also some murmuring in the media ahead of the last World Cup in Russia four years ago but there were no calls for a boycott.

Yet at the same time, the Russian airforce was dropping bombs on Syria, and North Korean migrant workers were systematically being exploited on stadium construction sites. Headlines talked about the “slaves” of Saint Petersburg. 

Wasn’t a red line crossed long ago? Can a TV boycott really make a difference? Every bar and every fan can decide that for themselves, and bad TV ratings will also affect FIFA, the international governing body of association football.

But even if there are poor ratings in Germany, and perhaps northern Europe overall, other regions will make up for it. FIFA has long been on the lookout for new markets — and it would be wrong to blame it too harshly for this.

Arab World Cup long overdue

After all, it is about time that a World Cup took place in the Arab world. It has taken FIFA over 90 years to decide to hold the tournament in this region. Criticism of the “winter World Cup” and the fact that there is no real tradition of football in Qatar is Eurocentric, for some it is even a sign of Western hybris.

But though the region deserves a World Cup, did it really have to be in Qatar? I m not pleased about the decision, but I will definitely be turning on the TV and watching the matches. I already know that it will be painful. I am not looking forward to it as such. Reports of “fake fans” celebrating in the capital Doha have left me speechless. I am not overjoyed either by the prospect of countless peace messages from FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the next few weeks.

But I am clinging on to my childhood memories, to 1994 when I was a young boy and sat in a darkened room, lit only by the television, to which I was riveted. Nigeria, participating for the first time, played majestically! And Bebeto from Brazil rocking an imaginary baby each time he scored left an indelible mark on me.  

Each fan has a story to tell about what awakened their interest in football. And in the end, it is the love of the game, that will see many TVs will switched on this year too. 

It might be a bit of a balancing act, but there are many questions to answer: How far will African champions Senegal get? Will Messi’s last chance be a success? How will Hansi Flick and Germany do? Of course, these sporting stories need telling, but I personally am much more interested in what happens off the pitch. 

Will FIFA’s orchestration of a tournament that it has already proclaimed will be the “best World Cup in history” crumble? Will international pressure lead to a compensation fund for migrant workers? How do Qataris feel about press freedom? What do South American and Asian football fans think of this World Cup and the subject of human rights, which is so present in the Western media? Will Germany do something to “represent our values” as team captain Manuel Neuer has announced? Will Qatar make something of this “chance” as Neuer’s predecessor Bastian Schweinsteiger hoped in a recent interview with DW? And how do very well-paid PR figures such as Qatar World Cup ambassador David Beckham deal with criticism?

That is what I want to know and discuss, at the dinner table, in the canteen or in the bar. All of this needs our attention. That is why I will be watching.

This op-ed was originally written in German.