This is a good day for American soccer fans, particularly those in the New York metropolitan region. First, New York City mayor Eric Adams has announced that the city’s soccer club NYCFC will finally get its own soccer specific stadium in Queens, moving them from the awkward playing environs of Yankee stadium. Granted, the stadium won’t open until 2027, so curb your enthusiasm just a bit.
Beyond New York, soccer fans all over are feeling like it’s the night before Christmas. That’s because on Sunday, the long awaited and somewhat delayed World Cup will begin. The 32-team tournament was originally scheduled for summer, but the unwavering heat of host nation Qatar made that implausible. The American men play their first game Monday afternoon against Wales, in what American fans hope is the first step towards at least advancing to the knockout round of 16. Cautious optimism feels about right for American soccer fans, a group that always feels as if they are on the cusp of something that may never happen. Which is also why a considerable amount of American soccer fans have at least one other national favorite, often driven by their favorite athletes from the Premier league or other international soccer groups. So while the American team will pack the bars, there will be plenty of support for Portugal and France as well.
Of course, that is assuming you decide to watch. Some soccer fans – I won’t say many, but some, are boycotting this year’s event for a long litany of reasons, all tied to human rights and all tied to the event being held in one of the world’s more oppressive nations that was in no way fit to host this event. Some of those violations have been ongoing for years, including likely thousands of deaths of immigrant workers who slaved under sub-human conditions to build stadiums and hotels and everything else Qatar didn’t have. Others involve the nation’s abusive treatment of women and members of the LGBTQ community – amongst other things. It’s enough that fans across the world – particularly European nations like Germany and the Netherlands – have led boycott movements and vowed not to watch, which is a big deal in soccer crazed nations that historically have a chance to win. There’s a long list of celebrities that have either publicly denounced the event or turned down appearance fees to attend or perform. Basically, at a time when FIFA – the sport’s global organizing body – is trying to drum up interest, they’re instead having to convince people that watching isn’t inherently immoral.
This isn’t by any imagination the first-time sports fans have railed against an international sporting event because of the politics of its host nation. In fact, we’re assuming this is a fixture of the Olympics, given its recent placement in Russia and China. But those nations, for all their inhumanity, haven’t failed like Qatar. And they also have a population base from which to hire workers, unlike the current situation that better modeled the building of the ancient pyramids than a modern workplace. All of which begs the obvious question of why Qatar got the bid in the first place, which becomes a circular argument for which the only two answers are money and corruption.
All of which leaves people like me, and my soccer playing and loving kids, at a bit of a crossroads. On the one hand, we love the World Cup and generally think it’s a well-deserved joy for players and fans. On the other hand, watching it feels like we’re turning a blind eye to some pretty awful stuff. And that by adding to the ratings, we’re giving the green light. That’s the dilemma for most every soccer fan that doesn’t love dictatorships. To watch or not watch, that is the question.
I don’t have a great answer for anyone looking either for council or to ease a guilty conscience. Only to say that when the US plays on Monday, I’ll almost certainly be watching. Just like I watch the NFL despite the carnage of CTE. And I’m sure I and others will say that not watching wouldn’t change anything, or that human rights violations are part of every product we use every day. In the end, it’s probably better to recognize that sport is truly a drug, and there’s little more addictive than the World Cup. Which means that while this is a good time for soccer fans, it’s a lot worse for those who’ve made this World Cup possible.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler
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