Did FIFA manage Crisis WELL?
It has been several months since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and many football fans such as me, are still immersed in the victory of Argentina winning the World Cup championship. It seems the most amazing magic to me, as the whole world wishes Messi’s dream come true, or perhaps we are hoping that a tumultuous story will have a perfect ending.
Oh, sorry! I kinda get away from the topic I want to discuss today, we are not going to talk about the gorgeous football ending, instead, we will talk about the social media crisis happening during the World Cup, and did FIFA really deal with the issues well?
- The First Crisis — A LIE
Drinking alcohol is always a habit loved by many supporters around the world, but in Qatar 2022, it is not as readily available. And for many years, FIFA promised and assured fans that alcohol would not be banned inside.
In September, Qatar said it would permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cups soccer matches starting three hours before kicking off and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match.
But just two days before the start of the 2022 tournament, FIFA flipped, saying that alcoholic beverages will be banned at the eight stadiums hosting the world cup.
2. The second Crisis — Insensitive movement
FIFA President Gianni Infantino hosted a conference and made an insensitive claim that he appreciates the LGBTQ+ community and poorly treated migrant workers because he was picked on at school for having freckles. His language throughout the public address continued to offend, severely bruising the FIFA image.
Then the organization warned participating nations that they would receive a yellow card if they support the LGBTQ+ community, as homosexuality is banned in Qatar.
3. Did FIFA manage the Crisis WELL?
No. They didn’t.
First, it is understandable that when hosting games in a country that has a cultural restrictions, the organization has to consider and obey the local cultural rules. But the movement of ‘Lying’ would absolutely arouse people’s critique and depreciate the FIFA image. Furthermore, after lying, FIFA didn’t make any explanation for this, just let it happen.
Additionally, the un-serious claiming and inconsistent behavior — A yellow card to participating countries that support of LGBTQ+ community, not only disparages FIFA’s image but also violated the fundamental principle — of ‘inclusivity’, which is a code of conduct that the organization always believe in.
The leader’s behavior and FIFA overall’s insensitivity, lack of accountability, and mistruths are the most long-term harm.
However, launching and hosting such a famous sports event needs people from different industry backgrounds and investing a large amount of money to hold, which is undoubtedly hard and costly. Maybe, the leader and the whole organization have to think about the place to host the World Cup to express inclusivity, as they hope all the world to enjoy such an enormous event, which is global happiness. Furthermore, FIFA has to make authentic and serious apologies to help save the reputation of this sports organization.
