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Euan McColm: ‘Sportswashing’ attempt to clean up reputation hasn’t gone well for Qatar

Khalifa International Stadium in Ar-Rayyan, Qatar (Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Khalifa International Stadium in Ar-Rayyan, Qatar (Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)

A clumsy attempt to trade billions in exchange for a better global standing has backfired spectacularly for Qatar during the World Cup so far, writes Euan McColm.

It’s quite the thing for the wealthy to squander huge sums of money these days, isn’t it? It’s positively on-season.

Take Elon Musk, the eminently dislikable tech bro behind Tesla. He recently spent $44 billion buying the social media site Twitter, and has spent the past few weeks in a bizarre public meltdown, sacking staff and picking fights with users. Leaked documents show that the company is in a parlous financial state.

“How do you make a small fortune in social media?” Musk tweeted last week, adding, “Start out with a large one.”

But, when it comes to wasting billions, Musk is an amateur compared to the rulers of Qatar, currently hosting the football World Cup. In an attempt to present a shiny, modern, forward-thinking image on the international stage, the Middle Eastern country spent an eye-watering $200 billion to prepare for the tournament.

This exercise in so-called “sportswashing” by the Qatari monarchy was supposed to drag their nation’s image into the 21st century. Instead, the effect of Qatar’s remarkable outlay has been to highlight the failings of the regime.

Spotlight is on Qatar’s failings

Of course, this attempt at polishing its reputation went badly from the start for Qatar. Preparations for the World Cup saw countless stories of immigrant workers being mistreated, of deaths during construction projects, and of dodgy dealings before the right to host was awarded by Fifa.

As the tournament drew closer, Qatar’s reputational problems intensified. The fact that homosexuality is illegal in this conservative country was, quite rightly, singled out as at least one reason why it had been a mistake to allow the World Cup to be held there.

OneLove armbands in support of LGBTQ+ people have become contentious at the Qatar World Cup (Image: Laurent Gillieron/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Footballers from around the globe signalled their intention to protest this state of affairs. Many declared they would wear armbands featuring the LGBT rainbow flag.

Before a ball had been kicked, mainstream TV sports pundits were talking just as much about human rights in Qatar as they were about football.

From bad to worse

Things have got worse for the Qatari public relations machine in recent days.

An announcement by Fifa that any player wearing a rainbow armband could expect to receive a yellow card did not speak of a country ready to take its place among the world’s progressive nations. This was a shameful decision by Fifa.

Qatar has spent £200 billion to improve their ranking on the list of international pariahs

The capitulation of players – including the England team – who ditched their armbands was hardly impressive, either.

I wonder how deeply the Qataris regret ever bidding to hold this tournament. They reckoned they could throw money at their image problem and all would be well. Instead, they’ve spent £200 billion to improve their ranking on the list of international pariahs.


Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers

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