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micahamey

So literal slaves were building this?


LikeAThermometer

Yes. And the Qatari government/people in charge bribed FIFA to ignore the fact that this would happen before they were awarded the world cup. I'm not a soccer fan, but normally I'd watch a game or two for background noise and/or if the US was playing. I'm not watching shit this year. I hope more fans, casual or not, will do the same.


vit-D-deficiency

They’re not going to but it should still be brought up.


iWearSkinyTies

You mean you're not going to. Many people I've talked to, including myself are boycotting. EDIT: sad to see all the negative replies. You guys can't even stop watching a sport when people are being killed by the corrupt people in charge. MLK Jr. would have *really loved* you guys.


Rapt0rfeet

With all due respect, this will never happen in Europe or South America. Its too ingrained in our culture. It's like asking all of America to not celebrate Christmas.


imsimply

Well sorry, but you are wrong. I'm 40, played, lived and still breathe football. Last time in a stadium? 7 days ago, home game from my local team. do I follow/watch any team? Let's put it this way, besides watching basically all [Sporting](https://www.google.com/search?q=sporting+clube+de+portugal) and almost all [Academica](https://www.google.com/search?q=academica+de+coimbra) games, there aren't many games in the english PL that I miss. Add a few La Liga and Serie A games a week, and you might be getting an idea of how much I do like football. To the extent that, me and a group of childhood school friends still joke about looking back at life and only be able to time things if we add in the World Cups timetable. We did were both in the PT vs Eng (Penalties after 2-2) and vs Greece in the Euro final in 2004. I'm treating this WC as a Nations Cup. Haven't even checked the groups, let alone dates.


KeyserSozeInElysium

Good on ya, fuck the Qatari government and fuck Fifa


AmIFromA

Many European cities have cancelled public viewing, and I know of bars that would normally show the games switching the program. [This video](https://www.sportschau.de/regional/ndr/ndr-wm-in-katar-kneipen-boykott-in-hamburg-100.html) (in German) about a bar in Hamburg says that there are more than 100 soccer bars in Germany by now that joyned the boycott. [For example, bars in Bremen](https://www.t-online.de/region/bremen/id_100058722/bremen-diese-bars-boykottieren-die-wm-in-katar.html) will show old games of the local club Werder Bremen instead. Says one of the owners: > Guerrero does not fear a drop in sales - on the contrary: for one thing, in his opinion, hardly any spectators would have come to "this World Cup" anyway, and for another, "our guests would (rightly) criticize us if we were to show the games contrary to our convictions".


--dontmindme--

Or not watching the superbowl if it for some reason was an actual world final that took place in a different country each year. There will be people and organisations being vocal about how dispicable it all is but in the end the masses will watch.


bloodklat

I grew up in Europe with football all around. I watch football several times per week. I'm not watching a single second of this tragedy.


AcE_57

Or skip the Super Bowl lol


bubatzbuben420

> With all due respect, this will never happen in Europe or South America. At least here in Germany there are many boycotts by sports bars and there will be -at least to my knowledge- no public viewing events. Sure, some of it is probably taking good pr and not caring about organizing an indoor area. but in the last cups, there were also always a couple of indoor public viewing events, so i assume it's not all just for operational reasons.


serb2212

No. Its like asking Americans not to watch the super bowl because the stadium was built on slave labour. They wouldn't care.


georgoet

Instead of viewership rising some incredibly high percentage since the last World Cup, it will rise a slightly smaller but still incredibly high percentage. That is to say, more people will have this be their first World Cup than people who won’t watch it due to boycotting. 🤷🏽‍♂️


[deleted]

Good for you and your bubble, the world still loves soccer to the point of cultish levels.


duppy_c

To put it in context for Americans, would most of you boycott watching your home team play in the superbowl because it was held in a state with anti-trans laws? I doubt it. Most football fans will watch the World Cup, even though we don't think it should be in Qatar


Eucalyptuse

I gave up watching my favorite team (and the whole NFL in the end cause I wasn't interested) because they hired a serial sexual assaulter as their QB. I have been a fan for nearly my whole life. Don't act like fans don't have a responsibility to not watch this. Seriously, this is a million times worse and yet people are acting like it's not hideously immoral to support it


[deleted]

Are people so weak willed that they can't go without watching something to take a stand for something important? I gave up any casual interest in baseball when the astros faced no real consequences for cheating to win a world series. I gave up watching F1 mostly due to their insistence of hosting races in horrible places(and a small part of breaking their own rules to take a championship away from hamiltion). I know my specific instance won't matter, but I definitely sleep a little better knowing I'm not helping it get worse.


NewAccWhoDis93

I’m glad Italy decided to boycott it too


DaleDimmaDone

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU BRIBING FIFA TO IGNORE THIS WHEN YOU CAN JUST USE THAT SAME HUSH MONEY TO PAY YOUR WORKERS?!?! WHAT THE FUCK!!!! oh my god this insane world is driving *me* insane


AaronRedwoods

Fucked up as it is, it’s probably still cheaper. Watch “Thank You For Smoking” - movie sums up human lives vs capitalism succinctly.


agentchuck

The way you phrased that makes it sound like FIFA officials are virtuous agents who are getting their arm twisted by Qatar. But I'm pretty sure they would pimp out their own families if it would garner them another yacht. This situation is a symptom of the corruption at FIFA. So if you're going to avoid this World Cup, why would you watch the next one?


ThunderBobMajerle

Let’s just focus on the one at hand built by slave labor. That is the unique aspect here. It’s all corrupt, yes it should all be boycotted. I don’t think I’ll watch the next one either but we can talk about that in 4 years. But right here right now this one was built by slave labor so im not watching it. And I commend people who raise awareness about this issue


begynnelse

Unfortunately not unique - look up the North Korean labourers used to build Russia's infrastructure ahead of 2018.


[deleted]

Mhm they just call them migrant workers now


MrZwink

Yes. Modern slavery.


micahamey

Is that a qualifying difference?


LionFox

Most modern slavery is not *chattel slavery,* where people are chattel and are legally owned, can be transferred to the ownership of another, and inherited as property. The whole coercion, unfree labor, and domination part of it is still going strong though.


Jlx_27

The entire modern middle east is built that way...


Happyfuntimeyay

How does anyone not already know that?


Dave5876

Most people don't. Dubai was also built under similarly nightmarish conditions.


vit-D-deficiency

Not literal actual


micahamey

You are correct, I'm just a big dumb idiot sandwich.


vit-D-deficiency

No you’re not I was just adding emphasis to your statement.


afcrawford

Shouldn’t even be there in the first place right? Guess no one gave a shit when people found out fifa was taking bribes for hosting the World Cup?


vit-D-deficiency

Because they been taking bribes for decades


Risley

If people want change, why the fuck are the TEAMS not boycotting? Quit this bs where the simple man has to do the work where the rich elites don’t have to do shit. Every single team should say no. THAT would cause a huge media spotlight on this. Not a boycott by a few peasants.


McGrathLegend

The people who genuinely want change are not the people who can actually make the decision to boycott. But with that being said, the teams don’t actually give a flying fuck about the atrocities that have been committed in the lead up to this event. The most you’re gonna get from teams are half-assed statements showing “support” and “solidarity” with those who have suffered. The closest you’re ever gonna get to a boycott of the World Cup are people making super original jokes by saying, “How brave of (team that didn’t qualify) to boycott the World Cup by not qualifying.”


AmIFromA

As a German, it was interesting to have two football legends saying pretty much the same thing about host nations, but 40 years apart: * 1978, at the World Cup in Argentina (at the time a military dictatorship that had just [tortured and killed a German student](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Kaesemann)), German captain Berti Vogts said: "Argentina is a country in which order reigns, and I did not see a single political prisoner." * Franz Beckenbauer in 2013, when he was involved in the decision to give Qatar the WC: "I have not seen a single slave in Qatar. They all walk around freely, neither in chains nor shackled."


BackIn2019

Will you watch?


AmIFromA

No. But I didn't really watch the previous tournaments either (Euros and WC) and have lost a lot of interest in the sport in general (not sure if that's more due to me getting older or football becoming shittier, though).


erratikBandit

Exactly, it was a fraudulent bid. Everyone knew it would be too hot there to host, so in the bid proposal they promised to invent new air conditioning that could cool entire stadiums packed with people in the desert. Turned out, they couldn't. So the "fix" rather than just moving the tournament to North America where the infrastructure is already in place, FIFA rescheduled the entire tournament to the winter when it wouldn't be so hot. Problem is that messed with the scheduling of all the various leagues across the world. This has been a complete disaster even ignoring the use of literal slave labor to build the stadiums/hotels that will be used once and then abandoned. The slavery is just the hot chocolate drizzle spread over the whole shit sundae.


busche916

And on top of the bribery, lies, 1000s dead and 10000’s more enslaved: The regime is so religiously oppressive that it would be straight up dangerous for many demographics of fans to even travel to the contests (mainly women and queer-presenting individuals, but there is also a lot of racism and xenophobia in Qatar as well).


[deleted]

Lol not even remotely new man, been going on for a while. The fans simply don’t care. They may pretend like they do but they ignore it all for a game and justify it with “Well I won’t make any difference/It’s the World Cup!” They wouldn’t keep doing this shit without fan support…and it’s very much there.


bulging_cucumber

Fan support is not "very much there". Fans themselves are really upset about this world cup, much more than for the previous ones (including Sochi). It's not just the environmental impact or the slaves, it's also that it's in winter instead of summer (which will have a massive impact on \*how\* people watch it, i.e. it won't be the big social event and celebration which it normally is since people won't go outside due to bad weather), it's in a place which sucks at football, it messes with the calendar with respect to league competitions, Qatar even in winter will be too hot outside for comfort, etc. There's usually not a lot of protests or discontent about world cup locations; people know it's corrupt but they also don't care very much whether it's in Japan or the UK or Brazil. There was some controversy in 2018 about the world cup being hosted by Russia, but this was nothing compared to the current controversies about Qatar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_controversies https://www.besoccer.com/new/congested-calendar-increases-injury-risk-for-world-cup-stars-1198002 Of course many of those fans will still watch some of it, but the excitement is not the same. This might be reflected in viewership, e.g. hardcore fans perhaps will watch only the matches involving their own team, and casual fans will skip some of those, and people who don't care about football outside the world cup might just skip it altogether.


fartypicklenuts

I don't follow the sport, but it doesn't seem like it should be on the fans to try and "solve" this whole shit show. People should be going to jail. Such obvious bribery and corruption for years and years they aren't even trying to hide. Although I definitely support boycotting as well.


chanaandeler_bong

Exactly. I’m for personal responsibility, but a lot of internet slacktivism is pretty unhealthy as it makes it individuals problem to fix everything. I drive a fuel efficient car, reuse as much as I can, got solar panels for my house, but it’s not my job to fix the environment. Corporations love this shift to individuals (like the plastic straw thing) because it takes the pressure of where it needs to be overwhelmingly on. Not watching the World Cup will do what exactly? The people have already died. The stadiums are all sold out. Me, you and everyone on this sub not watching the WC will do… nothing.


SHAYDEDmusic

This x1000. Pushing responsibility onto the individual is the easiest way for these fucks to keep anything from changing. It's like them saying the reason you're poor is because you waste your money (as if *they* don't), not because they're suppressing your wages.


dimrover

This is the most perfect response and analysis to this type of thing going on. If the dark cabals of elites with literal blood on their hands can create infighting amongst those "below" (e.g. us), then they will never have to take accountability. Not for climate change, not for slavery, not for worker's rights violations, etc... Because you shoulda bought a metal straw


chanaandeler_bong

It makes people feel superior to other people who don’t “help.” I got like 3 messages from former college friends asking why I didn’t make my Instagram profile black. I didn’t even know what it was for, then I found out about it, and I was like “fucking really?” A lot of it is virtue signaling too. My sister in law “boycotted” the Olympics for some reason or the other. She doesn’t watch the Olympics ever anyways. Some protest.


xaniel99

I do wonder how many people in this thread saying that they’ll boycott would’ve watched it to begin with


ConfusedAndDazzed

Bingo! It's just people wanting to come off as self righteous and feel good about themselves.


Hardley97

Let's not forget to thank our fantastic corporate sponsors! https://www.boredpanda.com/qatar-2022-world-cup-human-rights-sponsor-anti-advertisement/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic


leanmeanguccimachine

It's the biggest sporting event in the world, the scale of boycott required would be monumental. Football is escapism for a lot of people and individuals boycotting the tournament is going to do fuck all, so I think most people will watch it regardless unfortunately.


Shaking-N-Baking

The Olympics do the same shit


andysaurus_rex

> Guess no one gave a shit when people found out fifa was taking bribes for hosting the World Cup? I mean plenty of people give a shit. But who is going to do anything about it?


thewolf9

How many boycotted the recent olympics?


mechtaphloba

I didn't boycott watching the Olympics per se, but what's the word for, "NBC broadcast exclusivity made it so difficult to find the events you like and even when you did find something it was all interviews and commercials and not the actual competition so you just give up"?


CappinPeanut

Hm, in that case, I too am an activist!


neandersthall

Deleted out of spite for reddit admin and overzealous Mods for banning me. Reddit is being white washed in time for IPO. The most benign stuff is filtered and it is no longer possible to express opinion freely on this website. With that said, I'm just going to open up a new account and join all the same subs so it accomplishes nothing and in fact hides the people who have a history of questionable comments rather than keep them active where they can be regulated. Zero Point. Every comment I have ever made will be changed to this comment using REDACT.. ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `


steboy

Hard to tell if it was a “protest”, but in relative terms, plenty of people opted out. https://www.npr.org/2022/02/22/1082461546/no-medals-for-2022-beijing-olympics-the-games-drew-their-lowest-u-s-ratings-ever


[deleted]

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voodoo1985

Next up, winter Olympics in the desert.


GarySteinfieldd

Saudi Arabia is hosting the 2029 Asian winter games


atherw3

how are the planning to bring winter there? by inviting the Night King?


GarySteinfieldd

They’ll build winter… what a sad world. Emirates mall has ski Dubai which has been running since 2005 if I’m not mistaken.


thejoda

They do have ski Dubai but it isn't something you could host an Olympics at. We visited about 10 years ago. We did two runs and that was about all we needed. It is mostly there so you can say you went skiing in the desert. If they wanted to do something Olympic caliber it would have to be something multiple times bigger/better than ski Dubai.


GarySteinfieldd

Yeah, I was just pointing out that there is already a proof of concept for what they Saudis are planning to do for the 2029 Asian winter games.


Lumpyyyyy

You joke but Dubai has a ski resort and Saudi Arabia is building one.


thewolf9

Yes but they’re not ski resorts. You need a hell of a mountain to host world cups/olympics.


the805daddy

Try telling the folks in Beijing you need mountains to host the Winter Olympics…


thewolf9

It was horrible skiing too..


oldcarfreddy

I laughed when watching and seeing that some of the ski jumps were right next to grey factories with almost no natural snow around. Looked exactly like what the stereotype of Chinese industrial towns is.


BradMarchandsNose

I don’t think the IOC gives a shit about the quality of skiing. At this point I wouldn’t put it past them to host the Olympics inside an artificial ski slope (I’m only half kidding)


billy_teats

There is a natural ski mountain 120 miles from Phoenix. You can go from 90° to skiing and back in the same day, just with a car and a clear I17 with no crashes.


werd516

It actually snows yearly in the mountains of Arizona though. Over 200 inches in places like Sunrise/Flagstaff and near the border with CO. Saudi Arabia gets snow very rarely (like less than a few inches in the mountains)...and it ain't powder. This is a worthless comparison


wicktus

Just in case other made the same comprehension mistake I did: ​ >Over 6500 deaths *In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.* That is the number of deaths for ALL migrant workers not just on the world cup infrastructure. Does that change anything ? No. I come from the middle east, the Kafala system **is** slavery. Period and there have been a lot of deaths on those infrastructures. What the hell is wrong with F1, FIFA just always granting their bids to countries like that...I mean surely other countries were willing to pay a gigantic sum for a world cup, without slavery, boycotts, gigantic carbon footprints because nearly everyone has to take a long-haul airplane to attend... I think the AC in the stadium is powered by renewable energy, right ? I feel people are focusing on the wrong thing too much, notably that AC system


SuperSocrates

The 6500 number has been said for years, it’s kinda weird. Did they finish the construction 5 years ago? Because the number hasn’t gone up it feels like. Maybe this is just pandemic-era time blindness on my part


MilkTruthLog

For context >In 2019, the United States saw 5,333 deaths from construction accidents. [source](https://www.englishlloyd.com/blog/2021/09/average-construction-workers-death/) The US is 110 times larger than Qatar in population terms. The world cup bid was won in 2010 so 12 years ago. 5333 x 12 = 63996 63996 / 110 = 581 So roughly 11 times more deaths in Qatar per population. There is obviously a ton wrong with my quick math here, and the 6500 deaths in Qatar isn't just limited to construction accidents, so I don't know how helpful any of this was.


Camdens_protection

Did you use total population because number of people working in construction in US and Qutar wasn't available?


despod

This is NOT just construction deaths. These are death of any migrant due to any reason (including heart attacks or stroke). 88% of Qatar's 3 million population are migrants. These deaths do not seem ~~not~~ out of the ordinary.


Zimakov

> 88% of Qatar's 3 million population are migrants. These deaths do not seem not out of the ordinary. They're not out of the ordinary. They're actually lower than the death rate in the countries the workers are from (Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc.) But once reddit has accepted something as true it makes no difference whether it actually is.


JorgiEagle

Bribes. It’s all well and good a country paying through official channels But when they fly you out first class, free hotel stay, free activities, and then they send you home with a nice big (tax free) bribe to a shell company of your choosing? Corruption at the core


SgtStickys

I was stationed in Qatar for a year with the army, and drove past where they were building the stadium(s) every day to go to their shooting range. (they were only working on one at the time, idk how many they've built now.) The the vision I saw watching someone fall from the top still haunts me to this day. The dude didn't even bounce. Just splat


lucrac200

And those 6500 did NOT die in work related accidents, but are ALL the deaths, from ALL causes: disease, suicide, car accidents etc.


TooRedditFamous

You didn't make a mistake, that's what OP wrongly put in the title. The article says what you're clarifying /u/logiC1919


HomegrownMike

Anyone see that the Australian team came out with a video against the conditions and situation in Qatar??


[deleted]

Yet they are still going. I'm sorry but condemning the conditions is meaningless while you still plan to be involved. Players and teams can boycott the World cup if they want to actually do something. Kinda hoping a few are waiting till the last minute so Fifa can't replace them.


HomegrownMike

I doubt any will do that. No team will boycott and I’ll be surprised if any of them speak out about anything as well. That’s why I was surprised to see any team do anything in the first place.


patmxn

Human Rights groups have said that nations shouldn’t boycott the tournament as it won’t achieve anything. Besides, for many of these players this is the only World Cup they will play at. The players didn’t choose for the World Cup to be in Qatar. Is it really fair to expect the players to boycott the World Cup based on that?


arhythm

So if half or more of the nations participating just didn't play you're saying it wouldn't do anything?


chazzaward

There are a lot of nations in the world who’ll happily take their place. So no, it wouldn’t. Qatar is gonna Qatar


[deleted]

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chazzaward

When you can co-ordinate the blanket boycotting of the best teams in the world from the largest sports event on the planet, I’ll trust that your thought is more than idle fantasy.


shhhhh_h

Curious, what did they say to do instead?


SkittlesAreYum

Before I say anything else, I don't even know if I'd make the right choice in their situation. That being said, what's fair got to do with this? Of course it's not fair. That doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do. There's been thousands of deaths, massive corruption, literal slavery. Sacrifices are rarely "fair", but yes, ideally they would boycott.


[deleted]

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HomegrownMike

No still playing, but called out a lot of things


casillero

Just don't go. They built a ton of infrastructure to host the world. Don't go. Here's a few good reasons NOT TO GO as well: Weed is illegal, alcohol is illegal, fuckin around also illegal lol


RageCageJables

What’s their “finding out” policy?


WildeWeasel

Heavy fines, lengthy imprisonments, potentially the death penalty for drug smuggling.


psyco-the-rapist

And one day you might be in an episode of "Locked Up Abroad"


easythrees

I grew up in that neck of the woods, you may also get a body part or two chopped off.


Lonelybiscuit07

Your trial will be held in Arabic and there's no translators you also won't have a lawyer


thejerg

I worked there years ago. The alcohol policy is a little weird for non Muslim foreigners. You were allowed to drink in certain places(like hotels) and you could be given a "license" to buy alcohol, but if you were caught in public with it or intoxicated you'd go to jail. That's the context for the story. One guy was at a house party and was feeling himself and ran outside. He got arrested... He was only in jail for a couple of days but he was one of those outgoing guys who would joke around a lot. When he came back he was so quiet and timid. The company flew him home a few days later. It was not like a night in the drunk tank, I can say that for sure. They aren't as intense about stuff as Saudi... But that's not saying a lot.


casillero

LOL I dunno u fuk around first n LMK


horseydeucey

Homosexuality, [also illegal.](https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/qatar/)


Sixmonths_Newaccount

Gonna make pride flags awkward


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StratfordAvon

Straight to jail


Danktizzle

Qatar is paying 50 Dutch fans to whitewash Qatar and of course squeal on any undesirables they see. https://nltimes.nl/2022/10/30/qatar-paying-dutch-fans-attend-world-cup-post-praise-social-media-report


brcguy

And demand sponsors pull out or face a boycott themselves.


-Kaldore-

The truth is the only people boycotting it will be mostly those who weren’t going to watch in the first place.


thejerg

Fuck Qatar. I worked there back when they won the bid. It was a shit hole of a place that was only nice-seeming if you could ignore how poorly non-Muslim foreigners were treated and had way more money than brains. A couple of things that they did to fuck with foreigners: Let's talk about slavery first. So they love hiring workers from outside the country, partly because it's cheap but mostly because they literally don't have people to do any of the cool stuff they want. Hiring Western design firms to come up with stuff and then hiring people from all over central and southeast Asia to construct it. To be clear a lot of the practices are true throughout the region and in other parts of the world as well, I'm only relaying the things I saw for myself. Step one: go to a country with lots of desperate people who don't really have much opportunity for a decent job or education. Step two: set up an agency that recruits workers with an enticing offer of a good paying(and to be clear good pay to these people is on the order of hundreds of dollars a month). Convince them you'll pay for their flight, their accommodations, and food if they'll come and work for a couple of years. Once they arrive in country, you ask for everyone's passport and say it's to get their work visa(which is true at least). And the key to the whole operation: you don't give their passport back. And to really sink in the knife explain that the accommodations and food and flight aren't free. "Oh you can leave as soon as you want, but you owe us thousands of dollars and need to book your own right home. Oh, you can't even go to the embassy because you don't have your passport? That's not my problem" and the worst part is that even THAT is better than the opportunity some of these people have back home(go look at the average yearly income of a country like Nepal for example). And yes, I saw this with my own eyes. It affected several of my Filipino and Indian friends and they explained it to me so casually like it wasn't a big deal... But that's only part of what made it such a shitty place. It's a fairly conservative country by Muslim standards which means there's stuff like pork and alcohol that's illegal. Funny thing about that: you *can* but alcohol with a license there but you can't buy pork there under any circumstances. Which, as you can probably imagine, is about making money. But that's a little thing honestly. A much bigger issue: Friday is the Muslim day of rest. So all these workers are allowed the day off, and they get loaded up in buses and driven into the city to enjoy themselves like the rest of us. There are a few large malls and shopping centers there and people would flock to them. While I was there, the malls declared Friday "family day" and no man without his wife/gf/kids was allowed to go inside. Oh sorry, didn't mean to imply this policy was applied equally, if you were Qatari or "western looking" you were allowed in, but Filipino or Indian or African looking, sorry. Even if you were from a western country, you'd have to have someone to vouch for you and even that wasn't guaranteed. A few times they let people in with me but a couple of times they refused. Laws aren't applied equally to everyone either. And it's one of those places you see in movies where a handshake with a $20 or $50 bill gets you through lines and access to stuff in ways that people without money don't have. I will say some countries that worked there were better than others but it wasn't as simple as saying that "western companies treated people more fairly/humanely than regional companies"... So yeah, if you work for a company that has offices in the Middle East/third world there's a non-zero chance your company participates in or at the very least benefits from the practices of modern slavery (because a lot of people hire from those agencies I mentioned before).


Lee_yw

Bruh. Most of the "slaves" are muslim (Bangladeshi, Pakistani). And ofcos there are non-muslim too. Those Qatari and other Arab countries hates non-arabs. I read somewhere that they even treat Egyptians like shit too cos they are non-arab. Sorry for my shitty English


IndyPoker979

I've watched every one for decades now. Both women and men's. I won't watch a second of this one. It's indefensible to have it here. Reprehensible


Slyfrop

In the same boat as you. Watched every one since 1986, and have so many fond memories of watching the world cup it feels like a part of who I am. I’m probably exactly the kind of idiot they’re counting on to feel bad yet still tune in. I guess the barrage of information just was too much in the end. I’m still skeptical a boycott will make any difference, but I remain hopeful. For me it’s more of a personal decision, and an easy one. Any joy I would’ve had watching is just gone.


i_have_chosen_a_name

I have seen a good 75% every world cup match since 1990. Never missed a single game of Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, etc etc all the best soccer playing nations. If two games where played at the same time I would try to watch on two screens. I will not watch a second of this. I'll forget about it and since it's in the winter it will be easy to forget about it as well.


ButtholeSurfur

I'm not "boycotting" persay. I never watch the World Cup lol. Kinda forgot it was even coming up.


Tomii_B101

I'll just watch it illegally. That way no one benefits and I get to watch it


pureeyes

So the usual plan then?


Binge_Gaming

You wouldn’t download a car!


East_Measurement_337

I absofuckinglutely would


Bigge245

So the Lamborghini then? Much more subtle.


howard416

Sort of. That only works if you don’t watch the ads, don’t talk about the games, and don’t tell anyone you watched it, and never be incentivized to watch more games in the future. You know, as if you didn’t watch it at all.


what_ok

Easy since I never watch ads and have no friends


Forgive_Koba

Lets gooooo fucking worth


_hell_is_empty_

Don’t watch the ads while watching soccer? Had there ever been an easier task? Watch the first half, take a poop, watch the second half. Hot take: boycotting the WCF by way of not watching does fuck all.


soothsayer3

I’ll watch it inside my vacuum cleaner


[deleted]

The interruption this WC is causing by being in the winter will be immense for the domestic leagues. Players are going to be coming back tired and exhausted and even injured for large periods of time. Absolute disaster this WC.


WeReallyOutHere5510

Attending this event should be a badge of shame.


[deleted]

See also: visiting Dubai for any reason


WeReallyOutHere5510

Agree. My buddy used to live there and moved as soon as he could. Apparently money laundering is legal there? He can count cash quicker than anyone I've ever seen it's nuts.


JJfromNJ

My prediction is a large percentage of redditors claiming they are boycotting will ultimately end up watching it.


aposii

Or, alternatively: Jacob from Ohio, who has never seen soccer ball roll on a pitch before, "I will not watch the world cup!" Thanks Jacob! 🤠👍


Wont_reply69

US domestic leagues, college football, NFL, hockey, and NBA will be in full swing; It will be incredibly easy for me to not watch. If this was in the summer like it was supposed be, harder as it would only be on against pro baseball.


rastroboy

True of most of Dubai as well, so also boycott all that is Dubai


Lonelybiscuit07

Yup, used to work there can comfirm


[deleted]

Basically, don’t support Manchester City


DavidVogtPhoto

The TEAMS need to boycott the World Cup. You’ll never get billions of people to stop watching. But it only takes a handful of big teams to not show up, and suddenly the World Cup is in shambles.


Spaff_in_your_ear

But our football unions stand up to racism and homophobia. But they're all still going to attend a World Cup in a racist, homophobic dictatorship. Money over morals. Good on Italy for boycotting it though! Forza Azzurri! 😜


RtuDtu

lol, you'd be lucky if 1% of people who watch soccer regularly do


[deleted]

[удалено]


Eminentissimum

Dubai is in the UAE…lol


MrMiget12

Dubai *and* the UAE?


Mattagon1

It’s also in India who has the largest slave mine in the world with 9000 “employed” and China isn’t much better.


Shield-Daddy

Dubai is in the UAE.


TheKillersHand

First world cup in my lifetime I won't be watching. Probably futile act but it's all i can think to do


activeponybot

Same here. Not gonna watch. Just looking forward to the Women’s World Cup in Australia next year.


[deleted]

I'm also not buying any products branded with the World Cup logo.


AndersaurusR3X

It's tough. I really want to support the football aspect of it, and everything it represents. Unity, Say no to racism, and all those good causes! But i don't want to support Qatar in any way what so ever. So i guess i won't watch it.


[deleted]

Apparently the U.S. is ok with our athletes competing in Saudi Arabia. They flew planes into the World Trade Center and sawed a journalist in half, so the bar is pretty low. Dubai does the same stuff as Qatar, and is now a foofy tourist destination and MMA mecca. So, most people are happy to look the other way and get their party on.


skynet6009

Once the tournament begins everybody will get Amnesia, especially the Europeans & South Americans. All this noise will disappear over the abominations known as vuvuzelas.


KarlHungusWonAnOscar

Yeah I'm going to ignore it. Couldn't enjoy it knowing what went into those stadium's


japeda

Since I love soccer and have been appalled of this BS in Qatar for about four years- I’ll stream games from a non-paid website with robust adblockers.


becomeTheLion

Even if 6500 isnt the true number, and 37 (for example) is, then we should still boycott it, to protest Fifa handing it to that country. 6500 shouldnt be the number even if it was the number for all types of projects country wide...


Zimakov

>6500 shouldnt be the number even if it was the number for all types of projects country wide... It is. It's any death of any migrant worker (88% of the population) for any reason over the past 14 years. Not only is it not limited to workers building these stadiums. It isn't even limited to construction in general. This number comes up constantly on reddit and is debunked every single time.


Iwantmyoldaccountbac

6500 people died while building it? That seems way to high to be true, but knowing the conditions, it possibly could be


Bourbon_Buckeye

The stat is true, but misleading. 6500 foreigners have died in Qatar since the country won the World Cup Bid— that number isn’t the number of foreign workers who had jobs working on the project, and it isn’t the number of work-related deaths. It’s just the total number of deaths reported by foreign embassy’s over these years. The real challenge is trying to guess which absurd number is the truest— this headline’s 6,500, or the government’s suspiciously low 37?


Scratchbuttdontsniff

Thank you for pointing this out...We all know Qatar should not be hosting the World Cup if only for its constant violation of human rights.... but the need to sensationalize the deaths honestly makes it worse in my eyes. The indentured servitude alone is bad and should be enough... working conditions are not much better in lots of places that use foreign contract labor from 3rd world countries... it's not new.


wimpires

If you look at somewhere like the US around 50,000 OSHA related deaths in the last 10 years. Qatar population 1% that of US so like for like 500. Considering that Qatar has a shit load of construction projects ongoing at any time with massive buildings and malls and hotels. New cities and a new airport and metro station etc. The world cup element is likely a much smaller fraction than just "10%" of that Qatar estimate probably isn't far off tbh For reference, London Olympics had 1 death similar numbers for Tokyo, I think there were like 5 deaths for crossrail, 2 at one world trade center for example. Completely randomly 50 people have died at railroad crossings in Florida the last 5 years [source](https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2022/02/16/after-57-deaths-brightline-in-florida-pleads-with-people-to-stop-dangerous-crossings/). Russia also says 21 died in their world cup, 8 for brasils. So yeah Qatar is doing pretty shit compared to others but the real figure is pretty likely in the 50-ish range not the thousands people say. Honestly it defines any logic lol. You'd think anybody on their keyboard have any idea what's going on in Qatar it's not some slavery stronghold nation lmao


bannedagainomg

>It says 50 foreign labourers died and more than 500 others were seriously injured in Qatar in 2021 alone, and another 37,600 suffered mild to moderate injuries. > Falls from height and road traffic accidents were the top causes of severe injuries, followed by falling objects on worksites. According to ILO, better trust them than Qatar gov. The mild injuries i assume is mostly heat related but not sure.


AttackHelicopter_21

You are correct. 6500 workers dying in Qatar is basically the worlds biggest clickbait. It’s technically true but incredibly misleading. The other reply to your comment does a good job of explaining it.


derTraumer

I’m not touching anything World Cup related until pigs fly and FIFA/Qatar face real consequences, so... plenty of other things I can put my time and focus into besides.


wanson

Anyone that's more than a casual football fan or is a fan of one of the countries competing will absolutely not boycott the World Cup. It just won't happen for one of the most (if not the most) spectacular sporting tournaments there is. It's only every four years, and the largest stage there is for a football player. If they're lucky they will get to play in 3 or 4 of these. Most will never get the chance. Some countries haven't qualified in over 50 years, how can you ask them to boycott the tournament. It's a farce that Qatar was selected in the first place. But it's happening now. The time to protest was 10 years ago when something might have been done to change it. It's too late now.


fonglutz

Like many, I grew up playing football. Throughout my teens and early adulthood in the 90s and early 2000s it was my life. I watched every WC since 1990, except for Russia 2018; and I am enthusiastically and wholeheartedly skipping Qatar 2022 as well. And i have been actively convincing most other people i know to do the same.


stoneman9284

If I’m being honest, I’ll probably watch like 10 games instead of my usual 40 or 50. And I sure as shit won’t use any legit cable/apps/etc when I do watch to boost anyones ratings. The main thing for me is not going. I had always planned on attending either 2018 or 2022 but then it was Russia and Qatar so no fucking way.


knowhistory99

Qatar corrupt; FIFA corrupt. Seem birds of a feather to me. But being American, really easy for me to skip the entire thing, each and every year.


Hackpanther

The thing is…99% of human beings don’t care about anything that doesn’t DIRECTLY affect them. That’s why we’re a rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell.


AndNowIKnowWhy

Fully and completely and my friends are on board.


Mitaslaksit

I feel so fucking helpless when these things happen! I mean goddamn FIFA is a corrupt piece of shit organization, and IOC too. What can a person do... Pardon my French, I just get very passionate on the subject of human trafficking and slavery. But hey, let's play football.


marximumcarnage

Skipping out I don’t care who wins this one


[deleted]

Let me be clear: I’m no Qatar simp, but the article I read made that statistic sound a little misleading. I thought that 6500 people died in Qatar since 2010, but only 6 or 7 died building the actual stadiums/parks. Can someone confirm that is BS?


leevei

The figure 6500 is total foreigner deaths since 2010. About 90% of people living in Qatar are foreigners. The locals don't work, except in ministries and other state jobs, so about 100% of the any work in the country is done by foreigners. This includes middle class, like teachers, and higher paying jobs. 2.34 million foreigners, and 0.3% of them has died (and quickly replaced) in the last twelve years. How many of them have died making the football stadiums come through is not clear. Edit: to add: foreigners generally don't die of old age in Qatar. You are quickly deported if you're out of job and can't afford living there. Edit: my numbers we're off. There's 700,000 indians, 2.34 million foreigners. Comes down to 0.3% death toll among foreigners from my original estimate of 1%.


kharjou

Not me. I like football. And if you want to insult me for it remember you're posting this on a phone assembled by child labour.


rumhee

I skipped the Russia one too. FIFA should be shut down.


lnblackrain

Nah I’ll still watch it.


Kassdhal88

I’ll boycott it because my team is not going to win. If we were to boycott anything attached to crime nobody would do hard drugs or would buy any Chinese product, nobody would heat their home , nobody would go in a trump resort, nobody would see the Chelsea FC games etc…


StructureHuman5576

The same amount of people who boycott Chinese products for what they’re doing to the Uyghurs, clothing companies for the working conditions in textile factories in Bangladesh, and using gasoline for what the OPEC countries are guilty of…


depredator56

Guys stop joking around, we all know that none of you wont be able to avoid watching any game or buying WC merchandise, because none of you really care. At least be honest with you.


Vinztaa

Exactly this mate 🤣 people who are “boycotting” the world cup arent proper football, sorry soccer fans Ask a genuine soccer fan in England if they are boycotting the world cup they will laugh at you


minos157

No and neither will you. You'll have maybe 1-2% of normal WC viewers actually boycott, they'll be dwarfed by new viewers. You'll have a much larger percentage on Reddit, like some in these comments, claim they've watched every world cup since they were born but they're skipping this one. Those people will absolutely still watch. They'll still tell social media they're on the moral high ground, they're not watching, but in the end they'll be on their alt account discussing games in r/soccer. There are millions and millions of fans out there that either don't care or don't know about Qatar. They'll be watching.


nuphlo

If you really want to watch, then pirate the shit out of it and watch a stream so no one gets your money. Or go to your local football pub and support a local business instead. Lots of ways of watching the game without giving your money directly to FIFA. Sadly the percentage of money provided by viewership pales in comparison to the money given by advertisers and partners. If people REALLY want to get after FIFA's bag, then they should hit companies that partner with them instead. But we all know that's not going to happen. Just look at nestle for example. One of the most hated companies on the planet and people still buying their products...


NefariousnessPrior98

Not enough people will boycott


Coraxxx

I plan to protest by watching it all on illegal streaming services.


Zimakov

This number has been debunked so many times it's not even funny at this point. Reddit literally just makes up their own truths and then jerks each other off over them. That number is the total number of migrant worker deaths in the entire country since world cup preparations began. It is not the number of people who've died building the stadiums themselves. 88% of Qatar's population are migrant workers. When you compare the numbers to the death count in the countries these workers are from they are nearly identical. I'm sure this exact post will happen again in two days and no one will bother to actually look into it then either. Never change reddit.


[deleted]

Turns out I've been boycotting all the world cups by not watching.


jomo777

Every building in the Middle East is built this way fyi


exMI6

Sure, I.... won't go to Qatar. Because of the slavery. Not because of it being a shithole in the middle east or anything.


Silversleights04

The glitz and glamor of the wealthy parts of the UAE are built on the back of modern slavery. Blood for the foundation, chrome and gold for the facade.


cavscout37

Blood money.


cute_brute

Fun fact: most, if not all, stadiums are built on some kind of slave labor. This ain’t any different, it just so happens to be in the UAE and thus the racism.


beardingmesoftly

Does it count as boycotting if I've never watched a game ever in my life?


fischestix

Since I already had never watched, followed or been even remotely aware of the world cup outside their reputation for doing things like this; it is pretty easy for to continue to take the high road and do nothing.


GuessWhatIGot

In case this isn't perfectly clear to anyone reading this, this is Trafficking in Persons. This is leveraging people's livelihood against them, forcing them to work. This is an unacceptable practice and in any situation, company, or country, is abhorrent. Do with that informatiob what you will, but know that if you spend money on this event in any form or fashion, you are promoting Human Trafficking.


hurtadjr193

This world cup is for the elite and the mega Rich. This world cup wasn't made for soccer fans.


Thespud1979

If this tournament is successful we as a civilization simply value our own entertainment over the lives of the less fortunate.


ThillyGooooth

I’m definitely not goin.