KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 20

A controversy related to the World Cup is the alleged mishandling of migrant workers during the construction of new stadiums and other World Cup associated amenities.

The first two matches of the inaugural FIFA World Cup were played simultaneously on July 13, 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

This was the beginning of what would later become the most popular sporting event on earth.

The World Cup gained immediate popularity, and later, when the matches were televised in 1954, its magic fascinated the whole world. At present, the World Cup is the most widely viewed and followed sporting event on the planet, exceeding even the Olympic Games.

The World Cup picked up stream in Nepal as well, especially in the urban areas, after Nepal Television started to broadcast the matches since 1986. That was the prime time of Argentinian 'golden boy' Diego Maradona, who instantly reigned in the minds of Nepali viewers, and Argentina held a special place in football lovers' hearts. Later, the magic of Brazilian stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho fascinated Nepali fans. This is the reason why, even today, the majority of Nepali football fans are either Brazil or Argentina supporters, especially the kids of the 80's and 90's. Thousands of miles away and nothing particularly in common, football has emotionally connected Nepal with these two South American nations.

The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup was kicked off in Qatar on November 20, for the first time in an Arab state and the first World Cup to be played in fall/winter instead of summer.

Thirty-two teams representing their countries are competing for 29 days in eight high-tech stadiums in five cities. The winner of the final on December 18 will hold the glittering World Cup and will attain the title of World Champion for the next four years.

The football fever has started throughout the world. It reached the peak during the match between Qatar and Ecuador that whistled off at the Al Bayat stadium in Al Khor and will last for one month. Nepali football fans are also all set to celebrate this once-in-afour-year mega sporting event. Many have arranged the jerseys of their favourite teams. Until our own national team is beyond the reach of the World Cup, Nepali fans are destined to wear the jerseys of foreign teams.

Coming to controversies associated with the World Cup, back home, the decision of Nepali television service providers (TSO) to charge an extra fee per setup box has agitated Nepali football fans. So far, the World Cup matches were inclusive of the regular monthly fee on the satellite channels. This time, the TSOs want to grab the opportunity to make big money. The respected Supreme Court has given its verdict in favour of the TSOs allowing them to charge an extra fee for telecasting the World Cup matches. The Nepali football fans are disappointed by this verdict.

The biggest controversy of this World Cup remains the ambiguity in Qatar's bid to host the World Cup.

There were widespread allegations of vote-buying and corruption during the bidding process that took place in 2010. Recently, the then president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, personally apologised for the blunder that FIFA had done that time. Blatter pointed fingers at ex-UEFA Chief Michel Platini, who is reported to have influenced the voting after a meeting with then French President Sarkozy and the Crown Prince of Qatar.

The strings of corruption and vote-buying within FIFA also indirectly muddled Nepali football. Ganesh Thapa, the ex-president of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), was accused of embezzling millions of pounds of football development money.

Moreover, it was reported that a Qatari football administrator had illegally handed out a huge amount of money to a relative of Thapa. These activities clearly reveal the foul game within the politics of football.

Thapa is serving a ban for 10 years from all FI- FA-related activities.

Another controversy related to the World Cup is the alleged mishandling of migrant workers during the construction of new stadiums and other World Cup associated amenities. Reputed international media have regularly reported on this issue with horrible transcripts and heart-wrenching visuals depicting the agony of the labourers, particularly Nepali construction workers.

The inhumane treatment of those helpless workers resembled modern-day slavery. There were pleas from various humanitarian organisations to boycott the World Cup, the infrastructure of which was set up on the corpses of migrant workers.

Analysing the mistreatment of labourers in Qatar, the Kafala system that monitors migrant labourers working mainly at construction sites in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states seems to be responsible for this mishap.

This system requires all migrant workers to have an in-state sponsor who takes care of their visa and legal status. This is where the labourers fall in the trap of modern day slavery. The sponsor dictates the terms and conditions, which sometimes cross the boundaries of humanity.

Hopefully, the concerned authorities will learn a lesson from these controversies and will work towards improving the situation of migrant labourers in the GCC region.

The recent controversy includes the remarks of Qatar World Cup ambassador, Khalid Salman, a former Qatar international footballer, terming homosexuality as forbidden malpractice.

Humanitarian organisations and the LGBTQ community throughout the world have condemned this comment.

Amid loads of socio-economic, political and cultural controversies, the World Cup has kicked off as scheduled. The stage is set, the curtain has been raised, and the most-awaited sporting event post-pandemic has infected football fever throughout the world for a month. The powerhouses of world football are spreading their magic in the football field vouching for the coveted title of world champions for the next four years. Let's repose all the controversies and enjoy the magnificent game of football. May the deserving team win.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 21, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.