To prepare for the World Cup, Qatar constructed seven stadiums which cost around $6.5 billion and required several thousand workers.

Qatari officials say there were ‘between 400 and 50’ deaths among workers at World Cup stadium construction sites, according to sportingnews.

Unfortunately, this seems to be a blatant and disrespectful lie as the total is likely much much higher.

Between 2011-20 India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka showed that almost 6,000 migrant workers died on the project. Data from the Pakistan embassy found more than 800 Pakistani workers died at the same time, according to the Guardian.com.

This is a truly appalling number that FIFA as an organization should be held responsible for as it is their event. Even when Qatar was chosen to host there was massive discomfort in the decision and questioning as to why they were even an option.

The FIFA world cup is one of the most watched events every four years. The competition brings people together and brings football into the eyes and hearts of every country.

The next world cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026 which has everyone in North America excited. However, this year, the Cup is being held in Qatar, and the small Middle Eastern country was not meant to hold an event of this size.

The World Cup is often a summer event, though this year it is being held in November and December.

“Winter temperatures in Qatar and specifically in the Doha region, average between 70-77 Fahrenheit (21-25 Celsius), compared to over 100 F (37 C) in the region’s summer,” Feargal Brennan at sportingnews.com wrote.

This decision was made in the interest of the players and their safety. However, some stadiums had to be built and people needed to build them.

“Out of the eight stadiums for the upcoming World Cup, seven have been built brand-new. After winning the right to host the tournament in 2010, Qatar began the construction of new stadiums in 2014,” Joshua Mayne at sportingnews.com wrote.

“Qatar says around 30,000 foreign workers were hired just to build the stadiums alone — mostly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines.” Kieran Francis wrote.

These stadiums were built over the summer and because the workers were migrant workers, Qatar disregarded the worker’s rights and safety that should have come along with their jobs, according to sportingnews.

Qatar does not tend to have a respectable view on many human rights let alone gay rights. 

Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and often punished with three years in prison. There were many documented cases of Qatari security arresting people of the LGBTQIA+ community and sending them to “Ill-treatment in detention,” according to Human Rights Watch.

This is truly a horrendous sentiment. The Qatari ambassador Khalid Salman said that being a homosexual was “damage in the mind.” This has led to a lot of fear in the queer community at this world cup,  according to Reuters.com.

This is an unacceptable and disgusting standard that FIFA has not only allowed but caused by hosting the world cup in Qatar. While it is historic to have hosted the competition in a middle eastern country for the first time, it should not have happened while the laws in Qatar are so horrendous towards the people who make it possible.