Fans Call for 2022 FIFA World Cup Boycott

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar, but fans in America, and all over the world, are calling for a boycott. According to a recent survey, 59 percent of individuals surveyed believed that the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) should boycott the upcoming World Cup. Just under 14 percent disagreed with a boycott, and 25 percent of the participants were unsure of their stance on the issue. The boycott is centered around two main, human rights issues in Qatar, which are the treatment of migrant workers as well as the lack of rights for women and the LGBTQ community.

In the same survey, the question was asked whether or not the 2022 World Cup should be removed from Qatar and held in a different country. Sixty percent of the participants agreed that the upcoming World Cup should be held in a different country that is more friendly when it comes to human rights, about the same number of individuals who agreed to the boycott.

A number of European soccer teams have already staged protests against the location, highlighting the call for human rights. An example of this is the Men’s German team, who wear black shirts with white lettering that spells out “human rights.” This was not the only example of protest; Norway and the Netherlands’ teams also wore shirts with similar messages on them such as “human rights on and off the pitch” and “football supports change.” American soccer fans are now calling for the USMNT to take a stand with other countries for human rights and against Qatar as a location. Many individuals on both men and women’s teams have participated in activism in many forms over the years, for many different reasons. It remains to be seen if the USMNT will participate in the boycott of the World Cup in Qatar.