And so it begins … Qatar 2022

Thanks to The Guardian’s continued reporting on the issue of migrant workers in Qatar like in the recent article Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since World Cup awarded, the impact my passion for the world cup has on vulnerable and marginalized people will be even harder to ignore than in previous World Cups. As the qualifiers are set to begin in Europe, with Qatar as the host nation participating, we also need to turn our minds to the big picture closer to home. The Sportschau published a summary of where Qatari interests are with the European leagues and football clubs that many of us support.

Sportschau writes that the invitation of Qatar to participate in the European qualifiers is probably the result of a connection with UEFA that has become closer over the years. Qatar’s investments go hand in hand with influencing decision-making at the highest levels. The state airline Qatar Airways is a major sponsor of AS Roma, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and has now been selected by UEFA as the official airline of EURO 2021. The Qatari sports channel beIN Sports holds the rights to the EURO and Champions League in many markets. Its head, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is also president of PSG, now owned by the Qatar State Fund. He was most recently acquitted by the Swiss judiciary in a process of corruption in the allocation of media rights but sits in the power center of European football through his office at PSG. He is part of the leadership of the club association ECA and through this function also a voting member of the UEFA Executive Committee, which makes almost all important decisions in European football. Qatar has not only been invited to participate in the EURO qualifiers but also the Copa America organized by CONMEBOL and the Gold Cup organized by CONCACAF.

The Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen is decked in maroon to welcome the Qatar national team! 🇶🇦😍#QatarInEuropepic.twitter.com/udkX3GVhLK

— Qatar Football Association (@QFA_EN) March 23, 2021

Money can buy much but is your love for the beautiful game for sale? In recent weeks, there have been calls for a boycott of the tournament, putting pressure on football associations not to send a team. Many have already rejected the notion for various reasons. If fan associations and football spectators want things to change we have to do more ourselves. We have to stop watching the World Cup and take back what is ours. Instead of watching we should be playing and supporting those who play in the parks and in the streets. I hope to see many of you out there when the pandemic is finished with keeping us away from the pitch.

Eisern Union!

Welcome to the Bundesliga, Union Berlin! Congrats on the win vs Borussia Dortmund!

Die Eisernen (The metal workers) are a welcome addition to the Bundesliga this year. The club packs the small grounds An der Alten Försterei (Stadium At the Old Forester’s Lodge) in the East Berlin district of Köpenick with mostly standing supporters chanting the metal workers Union cry “Eisern Union”.  But that’s not all the Union supporters do.

In the early 2000, Union supporters raised money donating blood to ease the financial troubles of the club and, a few years later, upon promotion to the second division, around 1,600 volunteers rebuild the stands of their own stadium.

And every holiday season, the club organizes a “Weihnachtssingen” (Christmas Carols).

Union Berlin has a long history in German and East German association football. Winner of the 1968 East German Cup, and one appearance in the 1923 German championship final and the 1986 East German Cup final. The cold war years of the club were marked by a bitter rivalry with Stasi-sponsored Dynamo Berlin, when being a Union supporter often meant not towing the party line in a one party state. Good luck for the season, Union!