FIFA World Cup 2022: Will LGBTQ couples be allowed in Qatar?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, with a total of 32 teams, including the host team Qatar, qualifying for the tournament, which will be the biggest football event in the Middle East for the first time. 

The FIFA World Cup will be played in eight modern stadiums in Qatar. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in eight beautiful and modern football stadiums in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 this year.

From November 21 to December 2, four group matches will be played on a daily basis. In which, 32 out of 32 teams will play three matches in their respective groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, which will be played from December 3 to 6.

The top eight teams of the event will face each other in the quarter-finals on December 9 and 10. The semi-finals of the mega event will be held on December 13 and 14 in which the winning team of each quarter-final will participate. The final of the World Cup will be played on December 18 in which both the semi-final winning teams will compete for the trophy. 

Highlights of FIFA World Cup 2022

According to international media reports, the FIFA World Cup will be played from November 21 to December 18, 2022. This will be the first FIFA World Cup to be played in the winter. The decision was made because the hot weather in Qatar will be difficult for European players to endure.

According to reports, although the World Cup is scheduled to take place in the winter, Qatar is one of the warmest countries in the world in terms of weather, and therefore the daytime temperatures there are often higher even in winter.

Hence, Qatar has to spend an estimated 20 220 billion on infrastructure to host the football World Cup in the country and has made every stadium air-conditioned. Qatar and the FIFA Organizing Committee have reached an agreement under which drinking will be allowed in some tourist areas.

LGBT and Qatar

Billions of spectators from all over the world follow this event and are eagerly awaiting the football World Cup. A large number of spectators from all over the world attend this event And there are some who are homosexuals.

It is clear that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, which is why homosexual football fans are so difficult. In view of their plight, some organizations have requested the administration not to impose any such restrictions on spectators during the World Cup.

According to international media reports, several groups representing homosexual fans are calling on their governments to “guarantee their safety”.

Stance of Qatar

The Qatari administration had said that we welcome everyone in the country but Qatar would not relax its laws on homosexuality.

Homosexuality in Qatar is punishable by up to three years in prison and, in some cases, the death penalty.

Leading LGBTQIA + organizations were advocating against traveling to Arab countries for the tournament to protect homosexuals in this regard. He called for the protection of homosexual rights in Qatar and for special treatment.

The organizations were campaigning against a football tournament in Qatar, saying that the country is a conservative country where homosexuals are not given any rights, following which, a statement has been issued by the Qatari authorities.

According to officials, it welcomes everyone to Qatar, regardless of race, background, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or nationality, the country is a relatively conservative society. “For example, PDA is not part of our culture. We believe in mutual respect and therefore everyone is welcome, in return we expect everyone to respect our culture and traditions.”

Will homosexuality be allowed in Qatar?

FIFA issued an advisory last month urging Qatari hotels to welcome their guests without discrimination or face termination of the contract, after which the hotels were approached and told that homosexuals will not be barred from entering, in response to which only 3 out of 69 hotels said they would not allow homosexuals to enter their hotel.

Later, 20 of the hotels said that they would allow them to stay, but on one condition, the couple would not publicly state that they were homosexuals, while in other hotels, there were no conditions for them.