NUNZIUM

Today Argentina won over France at the play-offs by a score of 7-5, conquering the 2022 Soccer World Cup disputed this year for the first time in the Arabian peninsula, specifically in Qatar. The team that reached the third position was Croatia beating Morocco yesterday. The teams played, giving their best on the playfield in a spectacle that, technically, is the most followed sports tournament in the world. Unfortunately, this year the World Cup held in Qatar did not certainly offer a triumphant image of sport for what it should be outside of the playfield: unifying, fair, and honest. From its early days, worrisome elements emerged about the Qatar World Cup. During a major corruption scandal involving FIFA - Federation Internationale de Football Association - in 2015, several claims indicated that the Gulf country obtained the successful 2022 Qatari World Cup Bid by bribing committee members. After winning the bid, Qatar was further under scrutiny as there were many claims of abuse of human rights behind the construction works needed to prepare the country - whose land area is mainly made up of flat, low-lying desert - for the event. It is challenging to verify how many migrant workers have died from work on projects connected to the tournament. The Guardian reported last year that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010, most of whom were involved in low-wage, dangerous labour, often undertaken in extreme heat. In July, three human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, wrote to FIFA's 14 corporate partners and World Cup sponsors "urging them to call on the football body to remedy abuses of migrant workers linked to preparations for the World Cup." According to Amnesty, four sponsors – AB InBev/Budweiser, Adidas, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's – stated their support for financial compensation to migrant workers and their families who suffered death or injury, wage theft or debt from illegal recruitment while preparing the tournament. Corruption linked to the Qatar World Cup has reached in these days also high members of the European Parliament, who were being paid to speak publicly in favour of Qatar as an exemplary evolving country and influence some EU political decisions. On December 9, the Belgian federal prosecutor announced four arrests, including of members of the parliament, after 600,000 euros in cash was discovered in raids within the capital Brussels. Curiously, the four detained people were either Italian citizens or originally from Italy. The prosecutor's statement said that investigators "suspected a Gulf country (of influencing) the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament". It alleged this was done "by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to" influential figures in the European parliament. Among the arrested, there is also the Greek socialist Eva Kaili, one of 14 European Parliament vice-presidents, in connection with an investigation into criminal organization, corruption, and money laundering involving Qatar. Moreover, two journalists (one from the US and the other Qatari) were found dead in mysterious circumstances during the tournament. Despite all these scandals, on December 16, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced proudly at a press conference that the organization has made record revenues from the World Cup in Qatar. Infantino said the tournament was the "best World Cup ever" and had shown the cohesive power it had. Responding to this comment, Stephen Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, said: "Gianni Infantino has announced that FIFA made $7.5 billion from the 2022 World Cup cycle, more than $1 billion more than expected. He also forecasted FIFA to make over $11 billion over the next four years. Yet he offered nothing new to many workers and their families who continue to be denied compensation for stolen wages and lost lives. The migrant workers behind this World Cup have contributed hugely to FIFA's incredible wealth, and FIFA has a clear responsibility to compensate them for their losses. Rather than continue to ignore workers' calls for justice. The organization's proposed new Legacy Fund must ensure remedy to everyone who made this tournament possible, including the families of those who lost loved ones for it."