LGBT+ supporter groups from around the world have joined forces to condemn both FIFA and the Qatar World Cup Supreme Committee on the day of the draw for this winter's tournament.
The decision to award football's most prestigious tournament to the Middle East country has come in for heavy criticism as it approaches. Many critics have pointed to Qatar's appalling human rights record, including the fact that homosexuality is illegal, as reasons why the World Cup should not be taking place there.
Organisers have frequently sought to calm fears that members of the LGBT+ community will not be welcome for the tournament. But those attempts appear to have failed, with eight LGBT+ fan groups now penning an open letter condemning the Supreme Committee for the "little effort" they have put in to respond to critics.
The group includes England's LGBT+ fan group Three Lions Pride, Football Supporters Europe, Independent Supporters Council North America and Wales' Rainbow Wall. Along with four other LGBT+ fan groups, the quartet have now slammed both FIFA and Qatar for their failure to adequately prove members of the community will be safe travelling to the World Cup later this year.
"Over the past 18 months, we tried to engage with FIFA and the Qatar Supreme Committee (“SC”) ahead of the World Cup in November and December 2022. Our aims were simple: To gain concrete assurances and examples of how LGBT+ fans, players, journalists and staff would be protected in a country that criminalises their existence; To raise concerns regarding human rights in Qatar; To shine a light on the plight of LGBT+ Qataris and those living in Qatar," their joint statement read.
"A founding principle of our group is that we should be able to follow our team as our authentic selves wherever we play in the world without fear for our safety and with freedom from persecution. The arguments about whether Qatar should be hosting a World Cup have been well documented.
"In our conversations with both FIFA and the SC, there has been little effort from organisers to proactively engage around the concerns fans and rights groups have raised. Instead, we have often heard the well drummed PR line that 'this is a World Cup for all'.
"Human rights deserve detail not deflection, but all we have unfortunately seen from those in charge is slogans not safety, gaslighting not guarantees, avoidance not action. Simply put, this is not good enough."
Despite their discussions with both FIFA and Qatari authorities, the LGBT+ fan groups have hit back at the claim it will be a 'World Cup for all'. They stated that they have received no assurances about their members' safety with a matter of months left until the tournament begins.
"We cannot, in good faith, tell our members, LGBT+ people or allies that this is a World Cup for all. We have seen no details about how our trans+ members will be treated with respect through security checks. We have heard no specifics on guarantees that LGBT+ people (fans or residents) will not be arrested for their existence," the statement added.
"We have witnessed a complete disregard for fans throughout this broken process – it is clear that fans’ voices, especially from minority groups, are not taken seriously by FIFA and the SC. We are the backbone of the game – listen to us, especially when we are trying to make football a better environment for all.
"Our questions and concerns are separate to the moral debate on whether LGBT+ fans should attend, and our work will continue after this statement, after this World Cup. We will be heard, we will be seen, we will not be going anywhere."
The groups, which also included Europe's Queer Football Fanclubs, ADO Den Haag's Rose Regahs, Supporters against Homophobia Norway and the UK's Pride in Football also raised concerns about the wellbeing of Qatar's LGBT+ community. They called on FIFA and the Supreme Committee to finally respond adequately to their concerns, with the draw for the tournament now complete.
"This tournament needs to be safe for travelling fans who decide to go but must also create a positive legacy for LGBT+ people in Qatar. To this end, we will continue working with other stakeholders and governing bodies to express these concerns and help shape a more equal and inclusive future for football," the statement concluded.
"Change requires both sides to work together — we hope that FIFA and the SC will uphold their end of the bargain. That said, our aims remain the same, and we will pursue them with or without their input.
"We will continue to push and are hoping that we will be heard and that we can make change together. But it needs two parties to do so and a genuine commitment for change from the organisers and governing bodies as well."
Mirror Football contacted FIFA and the Qatar World Cup Supreme Committee for comment.
FIFA responded with the following: "FIFA has been exchanging regularly with a number of fan groups as part of a stakeholders engagement process on inclusion and anti-discrimination ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This process includes Football Supporters Europe, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) as well a number of groups assembled by the Fare network.
"Concrete answers have been provided to address their concerns and FIFA will continue to engage with those groups and provide reassurances for all LGBTIQ+ fans to feel safe, respected and welcome as they follow their team at the World Cup later this year, as for all FIFA competitions."
