Category Archives: World Cup

Messi business: how ‘sportswashing’ could land Saudi Arabia the 2030 World Cup

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Qatar has written the playbook on how to further geopolitical aims by hosting a Fifa event. Riyadh is taking notes

If Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy it will not only represent a victory for Argentina’s diminutive captain but his unlikely new benefactor: Saudi Arabia. The team may have inflicted a shock, humiliating defeat upon Argentina in their opening game of the tournament, but Messi, paid to be an ambassador for Saudi under a reported £25m contract, could deliver a long-term prize worth far more – a chance to emulate Qatar and host the 2030 World Cup.

After the tiny gas-rich emirate won the right to host the World Cup in December 2010, in circumstances mired in controversy, Qatar wrote the playbook on using the soft power of the world’s biggest sporting event to further its aims – from the big spending western brands which come with the tournament to the attempts to improve its image on human rights.

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Celebrations on the Champs-Élysées as France fans hail ‘magnificent game’

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Excitement builds for final against Argentina as spectators, some draped in French and Moroccan flags, praised play of both teams

Amid a cacophony of beeping car horns, fireworks, and people hanging from car windows waving flags, cheering football fans poured on to Paris’s Champs-Élysées on Wednesday night to celebrate France beating Morocco to reach the World Cup final, hoping it would become the first country in 60 years to retain the title.

“We’re in the final!” yelled Romain, 16, who had high school the next day but was planning a late night celebrating. “When France won the World Cup in 2018, I was 12 and couldn’t really celebrate in the streets,” he said. “It feels brilliant tonight, but facing Argentina will be close, nail-biting.”

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Morocco airline cancels Doha flights before France World Cup semi-final

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  • Seven flights cancelled leaving fans with tickets unable to travel
  • Royal Air Maroc says decision came from Qatari authorities

Morocco’s national airline said it was cancelling all flights it had scheduled for Wednesday to carry fans to Doha for the World Cup semi-final, citing what it said was a decision by Qatari authorities.

“Following the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform customers of the cancellation of their flights operated by Qatar Airways,” the airline saidt.

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The £100m Qatar whitewash: how UK advertisers put profit before protest

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Like the players, brands have in the end shied away from confrontation with the hosts during the World Cup

More than £100m will be spent by brands hoping to cash-in on World Cup fever, but when it comes to taking host Qatar to task over its human rights record protest marketing has taken a back seat to sales targets.

In the run-up to kick off of the football tournament in Qatar criticism of the gulf state was akin to shooting at an open goal.

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Qatar World Cup whistleblower was tortured, claims family

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  • Abdullah Ibhais raised concern at workers’ treatment
  • Activists call on UN to help release him from prison

A Qatari whistleblower who was jailed after raising concerns about the mistreatment of migrant workers at World Cup stadium sites was tortured on the eve of the tournament, his family has claimed.

The human rights organisation FairSquare also released a letter from the family of Abdullah Ibhais, a former media manager in Qatar’s Supreme Committee, who accused Fifa of “callous indifference” for ignoring his case.

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Delighted Morocco fans dance in the streets of London after World Cup win

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Crowds mass joyfully in centre of capital after 3-0 victory on penalties against Spain puts team in quarter-finals

Elated Morocco fans celebrated on the streets of London on Tuesday night following their team’s triumph over Spain in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Footage showed crowds of people around Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and Edgware Road chanting, dancing and waving Moroccan flags after the result.

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‘Roy Keane be damned’: how the pundit became a hate figure in Brazil

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  • Keane did not like players’ celebrations in World Cup last 16
  • Botafogo coach: ‘He doesn’t understand Brazil’s football culture’

Brazilian football fans have excoriated Roy Keane after the former Manchester United star derided the country’s national team players’ dance moves during their World Cup last-16 victory over South Korea.

Brazil’s players repeatedly shook their stuff during Tuesday’s 4-1 win with the coach, Tite, even joining in after Richarlison scored the third goal, cavorting like a pigeon in reference to the Tottenham striker’s nickname.

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Police investigate burglary at Raheem Sterling’s Surrey home

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Officers say no one was at England footballer’s Leatherhead home when jewellery and watches stolen

Jewellery and watches were among items stolen at the Surrey home of the England footballer Raheem Sterling in a burglary that forced the winger to return to the UK from the World Cup in Qatar.

Surrey police confirmed they were investigating a burglary at a property in Oxshott, Leatherhead, after Sterling missed England’s win against Senegal in the knockout stages of the tournament on Sunday due to a “family matter”.

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Senegal or England to win? Parents v children in London’s west African community

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In Deptford, south-east London, support for Senegal is high among the older generation, while their offspring opt for the country of their birth in the World Cup showdown

Football’s capacity to unite is routinely lauded, but Sunday’s World Cup match between England and Senegal has already divided many west African families in London.

The split is generational. Parents say they tend to support Senegal, the country of their birth, while their children opt to support the state they were raised in: England.

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‘Senegal is the best’: Dakar dreams of World Cup upset over England

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There is a buzz in the air of the capital and a real belief the Lions of Teranga can beat the Three Lions

Just under 4,500 miles (7,200km) away from the shiny stadiums in Qatar, a man named Serigne Fallou confidently proclaims that he already knows what the result will be on Sunday when England take on Senegal in the World Cup’s round of 16.

“Absolutely, Senegal will win, 1-0,” says Fallou, an apartment doorman in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t have a doubt.”

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Socceroos to face Argentina in World Cup knockouts after Australia’s famous win over Denmark – live reaction

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Australia’s 1-0 win sends them through for first time since 2006, as Mat Leckie’s 60th-minute goal proves decisive in Qatar

Calls for public holiday

Admittedly these calls are coming from the football establishment, but still, surely something for Anthony Albanese to consider.

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‘A magnificent win’: Australia’s World Cup victory sparks wild celebrations back home

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PM Anthony Albanese leads the applause for the Socceroos, who were also cheered on by huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney

Australia’s historic World Cup win over Denmark sparked wild celebrations across the country in the early hours of the morning as the team progressed to the knockout stages of the finals for only the second time.

Thousands of fans had gathered in Melbourne’s Federation Square to watch the match in the middle of the night and erupted in ecstasy when Mathew Leckie scored to put them into the lead after an hour.

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Anti-regime Iranians celebrate World Cup exit to US in solidarity with protests

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Footage shows fireworks and cheering across Iran and at Qatar stadium after team representing Islamic Republic lost 1-0

Some Iranians have celebrated their team’s loss to the US and subsequent exit from the World Cup, as demonstrations against the government’s treatment of protesters took place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar and across Iran.

The contest between the Iranian and American sides, whose countries severed diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, took place under increased security to prevent a flare-up over the anti-government protests that have taken place across Iran since the death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on 16 September.

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OneLove armband sends ‘very divisive message’, says Qatar official

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Head of World Cup organising committee says he sees rainbow armband as protest against Islamic values

The head of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee has accused teams who wanted to wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup of sending a “very divisive message” to the Islamic and Arab world.

Hassan al-Thawadi’s comments came as the UK sports minister Stuart Andrew said he would wear the rainbow-coloured armband at the England v Wales match on Tuesday.

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How many migrant workers have died in Qatar? What we know about the human cost of the 2022 World Cup

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This year’s tournament has been dominated by off-field matters. We look at the issues around the labor used to build the tournament’s infrastructure

The deaths of migrant workers in Qatar in the build-up to this year’s World Cup have drawn criticism across the world. While the tournament’s organizers put the official count at 40, estimates by the Guardian put the figure in the thousands. Here we explore the key questions around an issue that has tarnished the World Cup for many fans.

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‘A historic moment’: Japanese World Cup hopes surge ahead of crucial Costa Rica match

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Fans believe the Samurai Blue are part of wave of teams changing the face of football after defeat of Germany

After Japan’s stunning victory over Germany in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup, fans of the Samurai Blue are daring to dream their team could reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Their remarkable comeback last week has electrified Japan, where hardcore and casual fans alike stayed up until midnight to watch their victory over the four-time world champions.

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The World Cup tension the west is not seeing: Israelis told to keep low profile

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Though neither Israel nor Palestine are playing in the tournament, the latter has featured prominently in Qatar

One video shows an Egyptian football fan smiling serenely as an Israeli broadcaster introduces him live on air. Then he leans into the microphone with a message: “Viva Palestine.”

Another clip from the streets of Doha this week shows a group of Lebanese men walking away from a live interview with a reporter they have just learned is Israeli. One shouts over his shoulder: “There is no Israel. It’s Palestine.”

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Top Iran footballer arrested at club for ‘spreading propaganda against the state’

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Detention of Voria Ghafouri, who is not part of World Cup squad, seen as warning to players in Qatar

Iranian security forces on Thursday arrested one of the country’s most famous footballers, accusing him of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and seeking to undermine the national World Cup team.

Voria Ghafouri, a former member of the national football team and once a captain of the Tehran club Esteghlal, has been outspoken in his defence of Iranian Kurds, telling the government on social media to stop killing Kurdish people. He has previously been detained for criticising the former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif.

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‘A reason to get along’: World Cup jeers turn to cheers from Qatar’s Gulf rivals

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Arab teams’ performances have changed the mood among Doha’s recent foes who had refused to share in its excitement

Before the biggest event the Middle East has ever hosted, few regional states seemed to share in its neighbour’s excitement.

As the host country, Qatar, frantically completed its plans, there were even hints of glee as finishing touches fell short. Potholed atriums, expensive rooms, an overrun airport and even the last-minute beer ban were met with knowing smirks from many Gulf citizens who refused to share in the bonhomie.

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Fifpro asks why Gabon’s FA chief was at World Cup opener when facing trial

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  • Pierre-Alain Mounguengui seen with Infantino and Qatar emir
  • Mounguengui charged with not reporting crimes of paedophilia

The international players’ union, Fifpro, has questioned why the president of the Gabonese Football Federation (Fegafoot) was allowed to attend the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite being charged in connection with the investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse in his country.

Pierre-Alain Mounguengui, who was released at the end of October after six months in preventive custody in Gabon having been charged with “failure to report crimes of paedophilia”, was pictured alongside the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, at Sunday’s opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium.

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