FIFA and Qatar: The Black Eye for International Football
Turner Kirby
Soccer is a worldwide game and it epitomizes everything we love about sports. From fierce rivalries to people of all races, genders, sexuality, etc. joining together to cheer on their club or country. It creates moments that solidify why sports are so beloved across the world: Union Berlin’s promotion to the top division for the first time ever, Leicester City defying 5000-1 odds to win the Premier League. Every 4 years, this culminates with the biggest sporting event on the planet: The FIFA World Cup. Over the span of a month, 32 teams battle it out on the pitch for their country. This tournament has the ability to unite people from across all nations. The World Cup Final in 2018 between France and Croatia brought in 518 Million viewers worldwide, dwarfing the 160 Million that tuned in worldwide for Super Bowl LII in 2019. Soccer has the extreme ability to unite, however, in 2010, that unity started to be fractured as FIFA, the governing body of the game, selected Qatar as their host country for the 2022 edition of the World Cup. This selection opened a Pandora’s Box in regards to the corruption that riddled the organization for years starting to come to light. This project explores the still-unfolding controversy surrounding Qatar’s attempt to host the 2022 World Cup.
Turner Kirby is a senior business administration major with a minor in sports management. He’s a regular on the Lander President’s List and Dean’s List.
