Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Qatar is an absolute monarchy without a free press, but at the same time is more progressive than other GCC countries. Citizens and residents have access to virtually all international media sources, but the market for domestic news is tightly controlled. Qatar’s current media law is almost four decades, a remnant of a time before the country’s rise to financial and political power. A revision to the law was proposed in 2012 but not enacted. What effect will the World Cup have on Qatar’s media laws specifically and its environment for free expression generally? Unlike other mega-event hosts like China or Russia, Qatar’s soft power strategy is built on sport, education, art and media, all fundamentally expressive enterprises. When the world’s media begins to descend on the country in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, how will Qatar respond? Will international media enjoy greater freedoms than they do now? Will domestic media enjoy greater freedom to report? If reporting norms or laws do liberalize, what changes will last and what will be temporary? Both FIFA and the IOC have human rights commitments written into their charters. As mega-events move increasingly to illiberal countries, what are the consequences for those human rights commitments? Qatar is an interesting test case.