DOHA: In the parking lot of Doha’s international airport I found myself sucked into a conversation between four friends. They were discussing congestion rules put in place to ease some of the traffic issues that may come up over the course of the next month as over a million football fans descend on the first nation in the MENA region to host a FIFA World Cup finals tournament. An Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Qatari and an Indian, each had their own understanding of who could drive when and where. “Welcome to Qatar,” one of them told me with a smirk, before adding, “Where no one knows what’s going on, and everybody is happy.”
Everybody, that is, except FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. In an extraordinary monologue that went on for almost an hour Infantino hit out at the hypocrisy of the West. “I'm European,” he said. “I think for what we Europeans have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.” It was a clear message to the mostly white-cis-male columnists who have this year developed a remarkable expertise in the conditions of work and life (and death) of the migrant workers, a vast majority of them from South and Sousteast Asia, who have built this city and the world’s grandest stage.
"Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker," he said on Saturday. "I feel this, all this, because of what I've been seeing and what I've been told, since I don't read, otherwise I would be depressed, I think."
It is a matter of fact that over 6,500 men, some just boys, have died at work or in work-related incidents since the tournament was awarded to Qatar in December 2010 (both FIFA and Qatar dispute these numbers). Rights groups have pointed out that the numbers are misleading – a combination of shoddy record keeping, under-reporting and at times blatant disregard. Their families have received little or nothing in terms of compensation so far. It is an undeniable failure that should prompt more questioning, introspection, conversation and action.
In Qatar some of this is taking place. The country introduced broad labour reforms that were lauded by the International Labour Organisation and abolished the heinous kafala system. Qatar is no proletarian paradise. But, as the four parking lot friends pointed out… baby steps. Almost 90 percent of Qatar’s population is migrants. At least anecdotally, those who are here seem better off than those who are not. The same can hardly be said of Europe where governments have won elections on anti-migrant policies and border pushbacks that have killed over 29,000 migrants since 2014.
It was Infantino’s one point of clarity in a diatribe that otherwise slipped in and out of the realm of the bizarre. Which is not to say that Infantino should now be counted among the leading postcolonial thinkers of our times. Playing to the gallery is very much part of the program. There is a FIFA election next year and Infantino needs the Global South on his side. It was also very much in line with FIFA unofficial “Shut up and Play” policy. Infantino need not have bothered, though. Qatar’s decision not to sell beer at the stadiums changed the headlines all by itself.
Which brings us back to Ground Zero. At the time of going to print the fan festival was kicking off. Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Cameroonians and thousands of South Asians mingled on the streets of the city. This is the most compact World Cup ever. Compared to the 12,000km it took to cover France’s games in Russia four years ago, everything here is within a 50km radius. For those who have retained an innocent love of the game, and privileged enough to attend, the prospect of watching great football is mouthwatering.
For those who come to experience the vibe at a mega event there will be an ease larger countries cannot afford. Qatar and Ecuador get the ball rolling at the Al Bayt stadium on Nov. 20. No host country has ever lost an opening game at a World Cup. But the Asian champions are also playing on this stage for the first time. And Ecuador, led by Enner Valencia, and including Brighton trio Pervis Estupiñán, Moisés Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento, will be a hard side to beat. Here’s hoping Almoez Ali and his comrades find a little bit of magic and reaffirm the sentiments of our four friends from the parking lot.