SPORT BLOG
The middle finger shown by FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar to Western countries and corporations offered a lesson to African states in how sovereignty over a country’s rich resources can expose even the most brutal of imperialists as cowards. .
On Monday, blatant irony formed the backdrop as England beat Iran six goals to two in the countries’ first group game, which was preceded by a juxtaposition of the brave vs. the meek during the singing of anthems. nationals.
Iranian soccer players decided not to sing their anthem in solidarity with months-long protests in their country following the death in September of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after being detained on charges of not wearing a hijab.
Meanwhile, to English footballers, their captain Harry Kane was told by the Football Association (FA), the country’s governing body, that he could not wear a rainbow-coloured armband, emblazoned with the message “One Love”, in protest Qatar’s laws criminalizing homosexual love.
FIFA said before the tournament began that teams wearing the One Love stripes would face yellow cards, leaving players within a warning of being sent off.
In response to the FIFA directive, the FA meekly withdrew, saying: “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in a situation where they can be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”
Coming from a country that praises itself as a bastion of free speech, it was cowardly of the FA to instruct its players not to continue their campaign for a mere yellow card and the threat of suspension, especially after that the British media also took a position.
After all, more than 340 Iranian protesters have been killed since that country’s uprising in September, according to the BBC.
However, both the Iranian footballers and their supporters, who carried banners in the stands in support of the women of their country, decided to go ahead with their protests at the World Cup, despite the apparent death threat.
The truth of the matter is that Qatar, appalling as its human rights record is, is a member of the powerful Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel of oil-rich countries that essentially governs the production and sale of oil. black gold.
It’s why Qatar, where alcohol is strictly controlled, was able to order FIFA not to sell products from American beer company Budweiser in or near the stadium, resulting in a $47 million loss for the beer maker. beer.
Oil prices spiked in 2022 as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, disrupting supply chain markets around the world and causing high inflation.
Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have to kiss the metaphorical ring of some of the world’s brutal tyrants, some of whom (allegedly) kill US citizens like Jamal Khashoggi, while begging OPEC countries to reduce oil production and lower prices.
Despite the obsequiousness of Biden and his friends, OPEC countries have increased production and kept prices high, showing that they will not bow to the West.
In Africa, we have 30% of the world’s total mineral reserves, producing more than $400 billion a year in resource value, according to the United Nations.
God knows the power we could wield as Africans over our colonial masters if our states had sovereign control over our rich resources.
Unfortunately, that is still a dream. So I will just look at Qatar, cowardly as its social policies are, to show the middle finger to the African colonialists of yore.
