“Human rights and human life seem to be as important as the fun of sport”
In my documentary series In light of the World Cup You can see that it was a good decision not to host the World Cup in Qatar. If there was one championship that should have been pulled, this was the World Series.
There are many different reasons for this. It has already started bribing all FIFA officials, and it is also strange that the championship has been moved to winter because it is fifty degrees in summer in Qatar. On top of that comes the massive abuses and human rights violations surrounding the construction of stadiums.
Its persistence shows that there is something fundamentally wrong with football and that it is all about money. It seems that human rights and human life are just as important as the fun of sports. If a number of the poorest people die during the whole process: that seems to matter little to us. Should there be a fund to compensate surviving relatives? No, of course not, says FIFA. This is very painful, especially for someone who loves soccer.
I didn’t even mention the people and workers in Qatar who are underpaid, living in poor conditions, or deported to make way for the tournament. It is also nonsense for the tournament to be climate-neutral, as the organization claims.”
“Actually, we should not send an old boy to the tournament, but we should send an apprentice.”
“What else do you need as a KNVB to say: Guys, we are not in this? If you can make a powerful statement once, it is now. Some people argue that sport and politics are separate, but the two go hand in hand. Regimes abuse sport to promote its legitimacy.
Do not forget that the Netherlands and Qatar are playing against each other, the emir of Qatar expects the king to sit next to him. The Netherlands is sending a government delegation to Qatar, and even the King may actually agree. What kind of signal are you sending to Qatar and other countries that don’t consider human rights of paramount importance? In fact, we should not send a senior boy to the tournament, but we should send an apprentice.
I don’t think we should expect any big statements from the Orange players. The KNVB is very controlling and does in fact do the same thing as Qatar: check exactly where filming is allowed and which journalists are welcome. As a journalist who is not involved in sports, I am censored by the KNVB. I am not allowed to speak with the players and I am not welcome in press conferences. I only managed to talk to the national coach because he lowered his car window for me. The KNVB is terrified of Qatar and so far does not want anyone to speak up. I hope it turns out I’m wrong during the tournament.”
