During the 2022 World Cup, the Western media had nothing to say but bad things about the host country Qatar. Many of the policies and events in Qatar go directly against what western countries think and do. The most predominant issue was human rights. Leading up to the tournament, the debate on whether Qatar would be an appropriate host seemed to be more important than who the favorite was. Drifting away from the actual game of soccer has been a disastrous byproduct of involving politics in the world’s greatest sport which has been an issue since the creation of soccer. It is once again the sole reason why soccer and politics need to remain separate.

Throughout its history, FIFA has been a very corrupt organization. Under the table, transactions between countries and FIFA have been the main source of fraud in the soccer world. In the past, FIFA has awarded hosting opportunities of the World Cup to countries that have allegedly given the organization money; these countries include Argentina in 1978, Russia in 2018, and Qatar in 2022. It has not been proven that any of these World Cup tournaments were “bought”, but there is strong evidence of it.

In 1978, Argentina was in the midst of a military dictatorship, and at that same time, the country hosted the World Cup. Of course, the government fixed the games and Argentina won the tournament. Along the way, there were many acts of violence against innocent spectators who were only there to watch the World Cup. These fans were caught up in the midst of the crossover between politics and soccer, which in the end caused harm to them. Violence against fans because of political intervention is one of the reasons why I strongly dislike the idea of mixing politics with soccer.

Recently, leagues around the world have started to display pride flags on armbands, cleats, and even jerseys in support of gay rights. This is a less violent way of involving politics with sports, but it is almost as bad. The players are people too. They have their own opinions, and the fans do as well. Many of them have differing opinions which causes them to divide in a sport that is meant to bring people together. The leagues are forcing a view onto the players and fans which makes it seem like they are exploring the league for political gain. This distracts from the actual game and makes it less enjoyable to follow and watch.

The worst mix of politics and soccer that unfolded on the public scene was at the 2022 World Cup. The focus of the entire tournament was whether Qatar had good enough policies to host. Qatar and the U.S. are two very different countries with different religions, laws, and most importantly different cultures. In a tournament where having different cultures is celebrated, it seemed to be the complete opposite.

American journalists ripped on the customs that are associated with the national religion of Qatar because of how different they are from American customs. This heavily annoyed me because looking back, it was one of the best World Cups ever, but it was overshadowed by political debate. It’s very disappointing that Americans and the Western World were more interested in the political side of the tournament rather than the exciting American team that surpassed expectations or the storyline surrounding the comparison between Messi and Ronaldo in their last World Cup.

At a sporting event in which the world is supposed to come together and celebrate, the world was divided and depressed. Politics has ruined the sport I love, and it should never be more than just a game.