In a year, the controversial FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar. Obviously, I’m one of the few who thinks this World Cup is good.

First of all, we have to ask ourselves why so many in football oppose the event and threaten to boycott it. According to The Guardian, more than 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country won the World Cup in 2010. Human rights groups speak of several thousand. It is unclear how many deaths are directly related to the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament, but it is still a shameful number.

I do not want to downplay these tragic deaths or the far-reaching human rights issues in Qatar. But I want the other side to be heard as well, without having to directly defend the Qatar 2022 theme.

Honor question?

Isn’t the best way to honor migrant workers by playing in the stadiums they worked so hard to build? Wouldn’t some of them feel proud when Lionel Messi played there in the last World Cup?

I would prefer to have the World Cup in Qatar rather than in Saudi Arabia or Iran, for example. Their regimes are more authoritarian. Russia hosted the last World Cup and is also struggling for the recognition of human rights. But protesting against Russia was nothing compared to Qatar.

DW Editor Mark Meadows believes in the World Cup in Qatar

I think Western arrogance is at play here because many believe that football is not culturally rooted in Qatar. In fact, Qatar has poured billions of dollars into football by buying Paris Saint-Germain and sponsoring Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Few would suggest boycotting these clubs. Qatar has demonstrated its commitment to football. So it’s not just about sports washing.

It’s Asia’s turn to host

The FIFA World Cup was held only once in Asia: in 2002 in Japan and South Korea. this is embarrassing. It’s time to host Asia again. However, not many countries are willing and able to do this at all. China can, but it does not want to embarrass itself with its bad team. Australia is not really Asia. Now comes Qatar. We know that the stadiums and the infrastructure there will be excellent.

Qatar is also the Arab world that has never hosted a World Cup. Indicates that the country is part of the football family. Perhaps the pressure of football has improved the human rights situation there a bit.

Do not forget that Qatar is the champion of Asia. Should we prevent other continental champions from hosting?

Corruption allegations

It’s too late to boycott anyway. Yes, some teams like Germany protested, but they knew it was just a symbolic gesture and they will still travel to Qatar in November.

There are widespread allegations of corruption in connection with the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 bids, and FIFA officials are implicated.

The German national team protests for human rights in Qatar ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Iceland

If the World Cup is bought, it’s wrong. But the world has more than ten years to deny Qatar the right to vote and bring charges. Nothing happened. Incidentally, other countries also have to contend with allegations of corruption. The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City are said to have been purchased. Likewise the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

November is good for league operations

There is another problem with Qatar 2022: the World Cup will take place in November and December instead of in June and July as usual. But this is not up to the host. He wants to host the World Cup in the summer and provide the appropriate air conditioning. Football officials decided the summer would be too hot after the Qatar rights were granted.

But what speaks against November and December? This may not suit the major European leagues at first, but this period is more suitable for many other tournaments around the world. Again, it’s Western arrogance. The end of the year could give national teams like England, who are usually very nervous after a long club season in June, a real chance to win the title.

Another novelty is the fact that the World Cup is held mainly in one city (Doha). That could come in handy in light of the coronavirus and is a change from Euro 2020, which, oddly enough, has spread across the continent.

Let’s give Qatar a chance.

This text was excerpted from English by Melanie Last.