Book Description

On December 2nd, 2010, the committee of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup is an international football tournament that occurs every four years and is considered the largest single-activity sporting event in the world, drawing fans from every continent. To host a world cup a country must submit a bid and successfully win the evaluation process against other respective countries that have also rivaled a bid. For the 2018 World Cup, Russia was deemed the most suitable to host out of 11 total bids. For the 2022 World Cup, Qatar became the first middle eastern nation to win the bidding process and become eligible to host the competition. Qatar's bidding process has been regarded as the most controversial world cup out of any in the tournament's existence. This is due to the nations cultural values that have conflicted with the mission of FIFA. The football governing body has a mission to make football truly global, diverse and inclusive, for the benefit of the entire world. Qatar is an Islamic nation that upholds conservative customs. Homosexuality is condemned, alcohol is prohibited, and has one of the biggest gender gaps in the entire world. FIFA's guiding principles focuses on four areas of importance that would help future of the organization and football: governance, transparency, accountability and diversity. Yet, the Arabian Peninsula of Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022 because it was voted by the congress of FIFA to be the most suitable nation in 2010. During the preparation process, Qatar has received criticism due to its labor exploitation in the construction zones of the stadiums, its responses to the safety of the LGBTQ community, and allegations of bribery to FIFA officials. This thesis analyzes the cultural differences that make Qatar hosting the World Cup more challenging and how it has impacted the future of football.