A football-loving pub in Easton has narrowly decided to show the World Cup games this year - but has vowed not to profit as a result. The Plough, which is proud to be “frequented by LGBTQ+, anti-racist, diverse, football-loving humans” hopes to raise “thousands and thousands” for human rights charities instead during this year’s tournament.
Pub innkeeper Tom Quarrelle told Bristol Live of how the pub had been torn between a full boycott of the game they love or collaborating “with corruption, homophobia and human rights abuses”. After discussions with the pub’s sports teams and regular punters, they decided to use the games to raise awareness and money to help proactively challenge those abuses.
The devastating stories of migrant workers in Qatar who built the stadiums for the World Cup, alongside the country’s restrictive laws for women and LGBTQ+ people, have been well-documented by human rights organisations. Less than a week since the tournament started, some of these issues have now gained the attention of the world’s media.
