FIFA wants all participants in the World Cup in Qatar to focus only on football. This is apparent from a letter that Sky Sports has in hand. In it, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary-general Fatma Samoura ask the countries to ensure that “football is not dragged into all the ideological and political battles that exist in the world.”
The letter also shows that the World Football Association prefers that countries openly criticize the working conditions in Qatar and the violation of human rights there. The FIFA summit does not provide specific examples, but the letter therefore appears to be primarily intended as an appeal to participating countries not to comment on political and social matters. Something that has already been done in recent weeks, including by the Australian Football Association and the Danish national team.
“Now please let’s focus on football. We know that the football world does not live in a vacuum and we are aware that there are many challenges and problems of a political nature in the world. But please don’t let football get caught up in all the ideological and political battles that exist in the world. At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without imposing moral lessons on the rest of the world.”
Whether the participants adhere to the call is uncertain. The necessary criticism has already been heard from the Netherlands. Almost all sponsors of the KNVB avoid the World Cup and the Dutch’s captain Virgil van Dijk will wear the OneLove bracelet in Qatar, just like the captains of seven other teams. It is not yet known how FIFA will react to this. Formally, no permission has been given from the association for wearing that band at the World Cup. According to the KNVB, the Dutch national team will ‘just’ do that.
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