The World of Sports: The Climate World Cup
The 27th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) began earlier this month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with an emphasis on helping developing nations build climate-friendly infrastructure. Across the Arabian Peninsula, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will kick off early Sunday morning in Qatar with 32 nations competing in the most popular sport on the world’s largest stage.
Disappointingly, voices in both countries are being silenced in the wake of these global gatherings.
Only 32 teams can qualify for soccer’s biggest national competition, which only occurs once every four years, but all United Nations member states can take part in the two-week conference with a focus on helping “those countries that have contributed least to the problem [but] are suffering the most,” according to Melbourne Climate Futures director Jacqueline Peel.
The problem is that some of these very countries, as well as non-governmental organizations whose advocacy has been vital in spreading global awareness of environmental issues impacting developing countries, won’t be in attendance. Not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t afford accommodation.
Weeks before the conference, some potential attendees had their hotel reservations hiked up to prices 400 percent higher than the original cost. NGOs and groups from the least developed countries will be pushed out of this conference, which was dedicated in part to providing climate aid to the countries that need it most, with some countries in Africa experiencing their worst food crises in the last 40 years.
Additionally, organizers who can afford to make it to Sharm el-Sheikh could face difficulty protesting the issues that the conference should be addressing. A nearly decade-old campaign against Egypt’s reliance on coal was squashed by an Abdel Fattah al-Sisi-led government that has persecuted critics, journalists and human rights activists alike.
Egypt, meanwhile, accounts for approximately one-third of Africa’s methane emissions and is doing little to transition away from its reliance on fossil fuels.
While the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is allowing Egypt a chance to “greenwash” itself in the public eye, the FIFA World Cup is an attempt by Qatar to “sportswash” its own questionable human rights record.
Qatar, who are alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice to have bribed FIFA officials for the chance to host the World Cup, built eight beautiful, high-tech stadiums that will comfortably seat thousands of fans with air conditioning to protect from the desert heat. Behind the alluring stadiums that any sports fan would be lucky to enter are thousands of trafficked migrant workers who build the stadiums in horrid and dangerous conditions.
Between working 14-hour days without proper time to rest or acceptable food provisions, many workers are being taken advantage of — with some noting that up to two-thirds of their salaries had simply disappeared. Because many workers are from different countries and worked for companies owned by Qatar’s ruling family, there has been fear among them to speak out against their harsh working conditions.
“We were covered up by this big company owned by the royal family, despite FIFA having these standards,” Anish Adhikari, a Nepalese migrant worker, said in an interview with the Rolling Stone. “I felt very much intimated at every point — and if I took action, I would be sent back home. I was so scared.”
The bulk of Qatar’s economy comes from the oil-rich land the country sits on. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden declared Qatar a major non-NATO ally, aligning with the Biden Administration’s effort to ensure European nations would have access to oil amid the peak of the war in Ukraine.
In recent years, Qatar has made more efforts to establish itself as a tourist destination, including by hosting high-profile sporting events. Because of Qatar’s human rights violations, tourists should be wary of where their money is going — because it certainly isn’t going into the pockets of the laborers behind the epic stadiums and arenas.
As the COP27 draws to a close and the FIFA World Cup begins, it is easy to get lost in the austere present when countries from across the globe meet to plan against what should be a common and uniting enemy in climate change or celebrate a globally beloved sport. But in both countries, with both events, it is important to consider those whose voices are not being heard — and who is quieting them.
Patrick Warren is the sports editor and a senior writing about the relationship between sports and climate change. His column “The World of Sports” runs every other Wednesday.