The Bloodied World Cup

Kapil Dudakia
December 2010, the streets of Doha were filled with people celebrating Qatar’s victory to host the Football World Cup. Many around the world believed that corrupt footballing authorities connived to give this privilege to Qatar for favours rendered. In any other sphere of human existence, one would be astounded to find that Qatar, a nation with zero competence in football, no footballing tradition and no footballing infrastructure was awarded the most prestigious sporting event in the world. Is there anyone who believes that this was nothing but the most grotesque abuse of power and privilege?
Since that day, some 7000 people have died in building the infrastructure needed to host the event. Most of the dead are migrant workers from places like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. And the world of football remains silent. Nations turning a blind eye. International conglomerates hide behind platitudes. Whilst the Christian world drink from the chalice and the Muslim world do namaz, the streets of Doha are drenched with the blood of migrants.
Contrast this with how we treat our own in this country. The Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 took 96 lives. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. As a footballing nation we rightly took the tragedy with the seriousness it deserved. It led to decades of inquiry and investigation. Standing at football venues was made illegal. Those who dared to tarnish the victims of this disaster were named and shamed. And after 32 years, we as a nation have not forgotten.
How on earth can we as a nation then accept 7000 lives being lost just to build stadiums in Qatar? What has happened to morals and ethics of a nation when we care more for 11 men kicking a football around a man-made field in a desert, than for thousands who have perished by the negligence of the authorities?
History will mark this as a sporting event celebrating not football, but the destruction of our common humanity. It will record that money, power and greed is more important, than the lives of the innocent.
What is the point of football having a fake narrative on equality? The motto adopted by FIFA is "For the Game. For the World." What can be more fake than that?
Every self-respecting nation should refrain from taking part in this bloodied event. Those who do take part, there are no reasons that can excuse away the blood of the innocent. If 96 British lives matter, then why don’t 7000 migrant lives matter to us?
As a nation, England should take a stand. Let us as football’s founding nation declare with clarity, that we cannot and will not stand by whilst under the pretence of sport – the greed of nations spills the blood of the innocent.
Let history mark that at least one nation had the strength of character, and belief in its own constitution, to take a stand. Will this happen? Of course not. Greed does not care for the blood and lives of the innocent.
More than 80% of all death are migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It seems, for some Black Lives Matter, but Brown Lives can be ignored. Footballers of colour are quick to call out the racists when it affects them, but it seems they are more than willing to line up to take part in bloodied World Cup. These high-net-worth bigots of football give hypocrisy a new meaning.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin