Author: benw

The EU Should Boycott the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar


PRO (3 arguments)

Defintions:

Boycott: withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organization, or person) as a punishment or protest.

1. Qatar is using modern day slavery to build the massive infrastructure, so it is harming the people of Qatar.
Warrant:

If there are hundreds of other countries where the World Cup could take place, why choose a country that is literally killing and torturing its workers to build a stadium they are obviously unfit to build? The lives of hundreds of people are more important than a soccer tournament that could be held anywhere in the world. According to documents obtained from the Nepalese embassy in Doha, at least 44 workers died between June 4, 2014 and August 8, 2014. More than half died of heart attacks, heart failure or workplace accidents. According to the Guardian, Some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them running away. Some workers on other sites say employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards, making them illegal aliens, making it impossible for them to escape without being incarcerated. Some labourers say they have been denied access to free drinking water in the desert heat. About 30 Nepalese sought refuge at their embassy in Doha to escape the brutal conditions of their employment solely in the beginning of the construction in 2014."We'd like to leave, but the company won't let us," said one Nepalese migrant employed at Lusail City development. The Guardian’s investigation also found that workers building the stadium had to sleep with 12 men in one room, and they constantly get sick because of the horrific conditions and filth in their workplace. Other workers said they were forced to work long hours in temperatures of up to 50C (122F) without access to drinking water.

Impact:

The impact is that hundreds of thousands of people will be supporting a country that tortures its people and dehumanizes them in utterly cruel ways. If the EU boycotts the World Cup and openly bashes it and refuses to provide services to help build the stadium, they are saving hundreds of lives. The World Cup is important, but the lives of humans are more important.

Sources:

The Guardian and The Workers

2. Qatar is fighting in the Saudi Arabian led intervention in yemen for Yemen.
Warrant:

The EU should not allow such a big event such as the world cup to be held in a country with a role in a huge war with Saudi Arabia. In 2014 5,154,386 people attended the fifa world cup in Brazil. Having so many people in a country vulnerable to attacks from Saudi Arabia the 24th strongest military rated globalfirepower.com Also having the world cup in Qatar is sending the wrong political message if the world cup in held in Qatar it will raise a lot of income to a government who will spend it all on war.It also shows that fifa and the Eu supports war within the world. In 2015 qatar deployed 1,000 Qatar Armed Forces soldiers, backed by 200 armoured vehicles and 30 Apache helicopters, head to Yemen's Maareb  province. Qatar deploys 1,000 ground troops to fight in Yemen. Qatar Armed Forces soldiers, backed by 200 armoured vehicles and 30 Apache helicopters, head to Yemen's Maareb province.More Qatari troops are reportedly heading into Yemen with the aim of securing the Jawf governorate. Around 1,000 soldiers from Qatar's Armed Forces have been deployed to Yemen, as part of the Arab coalition's fight against Houthi rebels. An Al Jazeera journalist, reporting from the Saudi-Yemen border, said the troops were backed by more than 200 armoured vehicles and 30 Apache combat helicopters from Qatar.
The troops are now reportedly heading to Yemen's Maareb province, to join the Saudi-led coalition already fighting in the area. Also more Qatari forces are expected, with the aim of securing the Jawf governorate.The news comes as coalition forces pounded the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa with air strikes following the killing of 60 Gulf soldiers in a rebel missile attack. The United Arab Emirates had pledged to quickly avenge its heaviest ever military loss, after 45 of its soldiers were killed in a strike from Qatari soldiers, along with 10 Saudis and five Bahrainis, as well as four Yemeni troops."Our revenge shall not take long," Emirati media quoted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as warning."We will press ahead until we purge Yemen of the scum."A  bombardment in September 2015 was one of the heaviest of the six-month-old air campaign. 
Coalition warplanes hit military bases on the capital's Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills and the neighbouring presidential complex, south of Sanaa, as well as a special forces headquarters.
Also targeted were Houthi  in the northern areas of Sufan and al-Nahda, forcing scores of residents to flee, and rebel positions near the Saudi and Emirati embassies, witnesses told the AFP news agency. Upwards of 4,500 people have been killed in the Yemen conflict, including hundreds of children, according to the UN which has warned that the country is on the brink of famine.

Impact:

Since Qatar is so heavily involved in this war it is not a good idea to hold on of the biggest world events in a country with active involvement in a huge war.

Sources:

aljazeera.com globalfirepower.com

3. Qatar won its World Cup bid unfairly.
Warrant:

The EU should definitely boycott the 2022 World Cup because it was a flawed if not illegal bid that allowed Qatar to host the World Cup. According to sources such as the New York Times, BBC, ESPN and more, Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president, accepted a $100 mil. bribe that helped Qatar win the bid for the ‘22 World Cup. Other high ranking FIFA officials such as Jeffrey Webb, Chuck Blazer, Aaron Davidson, and more were also arresting regarding the 2022 bid. So far 22 FIFA officials have been found guilty of corruption regarding the Qatar 2022 bid. Just because Qatar is a very rich country and capable of bribing FIFA officials, doesn’t mean they should be able to host the World Cup. In fact, it means quite the opposite. Qatar should get stripped of the ability to host and be further punished for their irrational and quite frankly illegal ways to try to get the bid. An FBI investigation should not be necessary to figure out which country can hold the World Cup, but yet it is. Qatar is clearly corrupt and shouldn't be allowed to host.

Impact:

The EU should most definitely boycott the 2022 World Cup because of the flawed process which occurred to allow it to be hosted in Qatar. The World Cup should be getting held in South Korea, Australia, the US or Japan instead of Qatar. The EU should boycott the 2022 World Cup to draw attention to the cruelty of the circumstances in Qatar and the unjust bidding process that occurred.