How does a country that’s never been to the World Cup and has no infrastructure or stadium win a bid to host the 2022 games? A Game of Double Standards explores the controversies that led up to the country of Qatar holding the world’s biggest sporting event.
Director Mohammed Salameh starts off in quick fashion, almost in a trailer-type style. A bunch of talking heads appear without nameplates, and then the announcement that Qatar has won the bid for 2022, followed by news clips of the backlash that follows. The film starts to fill us in on the history of the World Cup and the phenomenon it has become. Those nameless talking heads are introduced to us, ranging from a former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, to Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) for Qatar.
Salameh takes the documentary and first tackles the issue of bribery, which seems like a no-brainer. When an independent investigator is hired to look into the situation, it seems that Qatar is exonerated through loose rules not clearly defined within FIFA’s organization. The country is ill-prepared because now everything has to be built, everything from roads to the stadium itself and, something I found amusing to hear, toilets and sanitation systems. So how do you get all that done? Through cheap labor. Scrutiny arises over how workers are paid and their living conditions, even a reported 6,500 deaths. The media is all over them, and the Qataris basically can’t catch a break. It reminds me of the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” A lot of animosity was directed toward the country after it won the bid, and an eventual blockade was formed by other surrounding countries to try to cut off supplies, and their agenda is revealed in the film.
“Salameh’s goal, no pun intended, was to show that Qatar faced an uphill battle once they were set to host.”
One area where I felt Salameh could have dedicated more time was the idea of hosting a global event within an Arab country with conservative Muslim views. Being LGBTQ is illegal there, and women’s rights aren’t equal either. There were talks of boycotting, and the film discusses that this was an issue, but it seemed to get glossed over, as it all worked out in the end. This is how I felt the film concluded; everything was tied nicely with a bow. The event was a success and had laid the groundwork for Saudi Arabia hosting its own World Cup in 2034.
At the time I’m writing this, the United States is currently the hosting nation for the 2026 World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico hosting a few games, and it’s been fantastic. I only really watch soccer during the World Cup, once every four years, so I don’t really know all that goes into it, so I was intrigued to watch this documentary. Salameh’s goal, no pun intended, was to show that Qatar faced an uphill battle once they were set to host, and how maybe they were never given a fair shake. Unfortunately for me, although I found that I was educated, in the end I felt underwhelmed. Salameh wisely uses Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, who throughout his seasons covered this very topic, and perhaps I found that to be enough.
"…Salameh's goal, no pun intended, was to show that Qatar faced an uphill battle once they were set to host."
