The day of the draw to decide the 2022 host country. I sat in my office in New York glued to my phone screen on YouTube watching live. The host rolled the names like a lottery, and one was selected, the name for the host country was out of the bucket and the soccer federation host built tension before announcing. The following world cup host country for 2022, will be Qatar.
Blanks, I turn off my phone speaker and allow the silence to ring loud in the room, while I sat in the quiet. I felt drained and saw my dreams being shattered like broken glass. I would not be able to see the games in Qatar for a variety of reasons. I do not believe I would be safe with my husband as a gay couple to hold hands and kiss in Qatar.
There is no true freedom for one group except we choose to ignore others because we are safe enough to pass in the world. If that is true for you, I hope you can acknowledge this as a privilege.
“When we’re not hungry for justice it’s usually because we’re too full with privilege.” – Carlos A. Rodriguez
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I fell in love with soccer because of the shared community and spirit it brought with it. In 96’ Nigerians of different stripes, tribes, and faith backgrounds bonded together with the hope of a country winning a sports competition.
I wasn’t considered a prolific soccer player and couldn’t dream of being one because I lacked the physicality needed at a young age to go toe to toe with defensive players neither could I fit as a striker because I lacked the magnetism of the forward players who dribble with the ball continuously.
When I realized I do not have a career as a soccer player, I perfected my dream of becoming a coach by learning the game as much as I can on the sideline. I would run around the sideline pointing to where players should kick the ball, I created an imagination of being a soccer coach because it’s hard for players to respect you if didn’t have the reps.
One day, in college my friends and I were discussing, and we decided to vote on who would have a career in sports. To my surprise all my friend chooses me for a different reason, they suggested I would be a good sports commentator because I have a good memory and knowledge of the sport.
Migrating to the United States as a displaced person, I have joined a cohort of men who knows the game and watch soccer consistently. Many of my gay friends including my husband seem to have a distant relationship with the sport and many other sports that involve heterosexual men with heavy masculine features.
Almost every Sunday morning, I wake with excitement and head to the soccer field to play with a group of men from different countries, it’s the closest thing to keeping my childhood love for soccer and reconnecting with the feeling of playing around in dirt soil with kids back home in Warri Nigeria.
I have piped my dreams and hope one day if I had a child, I would coach their soccer team.
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I have tried to diagnose why other gay men have this sort of disdain for soccer. At first, I taught it was not a popular sport in the U.S. because Americans try to break from Britain in all its parts, but one of my close friends said; is sexier to watch basketball because the men are hot, and their shorts can hold their butts tighter.
At this time of inflection living in the United States, it seems like there is a lot of hate and victim blaming between people of different political beliefs, religious backgrounds, and skin color. I taught the fact that the United States has qualified for the world cup in 2022 will unite us. The U.S. men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 competition, adding to the excitement of the United States hosting the 2026 World Cup games.
I was wrong for many reasons, the games are being hosted in Qatar a country that has been involved in a heap of human rights violations, but that aside I couldn’t even go to Qatar even if I want to because as a refugee, my travel document is not accepted for entrance. Isn’t that exclusion of refugees who are soccer players around the world?
Secondly, I don’t know if a “gay soccer fan can go to the world cup” and do the two things that attract people to a soccer game, having a beer with a friend and bonding over similar interests.
In the last two weeks of October 2022, the English Premier League has dedicated two weeks of support of LGBTQ people around the world with rainbow laces by all twenty-two players on the field, rainbow hand bands by the captains of the teams, rainbow pins on the jacket of the coaches, a statement to say to the soccer world. We stand with LGBTQ people and sports should be welcoming of all including my friends who are not as masculine as many would expect.
So, can fans come to Qatar with rainbow flags, and can captains of teams who want to show support for LGBTQ people wear rainbow hand bands? “FIFA and Qatar’s Supreme Committee, the two bodies responsible for organizing the 2022 World Cup, have said that “everybody's welcome” at the tournament, which begins Nov. 21. Yet the host country has not repealed or suspended laws that criminalize homosexuality. It regularly ranks among the most dangerous destinations for LGBTQ travelers.”
Qatar has issues with workers' warfare, it’s a Merage of violations of workers’ rights and other human rights abuses. Instead of the games bringing Americans and fans of the sport together, it has become an issue of political ideology and the division of who supports the U.S. or their countries team's participation at the Qatar world cup.
On the other hand, there is no country without blame, the United States has its own problems, but it’s an active democracy which tries to be fair in her practice of the ideology of free and fair representation of the people.
What lies ahead of the games, many people from the opposing angle have said; this is sport, politics, and sport should not mix. Soccer is more than just twenty-two men in a field running after a ball, it’s a religion for some people and they too should feel safe to be in the discussion.
Oh, stop it! Sport has been a political tool from time memorial and will not stop being a political tool, if it can be used by the rich and powerful, why shouldn’t the rest of us.
We continually advocate for a change in policies, we use sport as a tool to mend the broken world, and it’s a price to be paid by countries that choose to wear the badge of honor of hosting the world at her dinner table. To say not just all are welcome but the laws are welcoming for them too.