This year’s World Cup has sparked controversy. CNN has quoted world cup chief that at least 450 migrant workers have died as a result of numerous unhealthy and unfair working conditions during the construction of the stadiums in Qatar.
Soccer fan George Gutierrez, a junior studying accounting, expressed concerns about the games in Qatar, but explains why he continues to watch the sporting event.
George Gutierrez: “I’m Latin American and it kind of brings the whole world together in a place. I’m Ecuadorian and the first match was Qatar versus Ecuador. The commentator is speaking about it, but like, when was the last time you seen people from Qatar and people from Ecuador sharing the same space? And I thought that was a really beautiful thing to witness.”
Business administration major, Samuel Ramirez watches avidly with some regrets.
Samuel Ramirez: “I mean, it’s just like the workers are getting treated with no respect. And not getting like the wages that they deserve. And honestly, the Qatar World Cup shouldn’t have been in Qatar. Like everything is like it was just a money grab for FIFA. I’m a soccer fan and I want to see Messi win a World Cup. I’m also Latino. Like soccer’s a huge thing and Latino culture. Plus, I’m in the middle of finals season and this de-stresses me.”
Marshall senior Jimmy Ong believes that future games should not jeopardize the lives of migrant workers anywhere.
Jimmy Ong: “I know Qatar has a lot of Filipino migrant workers, so it’s something that I would be interested to know about and read about. I think the board for the World Cup should reconsider where they host these games in the future, especially in a place where there are a lot of human rights issues.”
Other students addressed the various hardships surrounding the way Qatar has handled hosting the world cup thus far while still rationalizing the importance of the games.
Connor Castro: “I’m a pretty big soccer fan.”
Says Psychology major Connor Castro.
Connor Castro: “So I follow a lot of news agencies who have been reporting primarily about things like the LGBTQ laws and how they’ll kill them if they commit those actions, the migrant workers and how many have died, the poor work conditions they’re going through, the poor equipment that they’ve been using. And just how in Qatar they’ve just been brushing it under or they just don’t care.”
But even those who care can put the atrocities aside in order to root for their team. Castro continues…
Connor Castro: “I think because at the end of the day, it’s still just a sporting event, the location, it doesn’t really matter because it’s just, again, it’s a game. Obviously, the political landscape of how it occurred is very it’s obviously horrible. But at the end of the day, it’s still just 11 people playing soccer.”
That being said for a lot of people, human rights is not a game.