List of 2022 FIFA World Cup controversies

The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar created a number of concerns and controversies regarding both Qatar's suitability as a host country and the fairness of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) bidding process. Criticism from a number of media outlets, sporting experts, and human rights groups highlighted problems such as Qatar's limited football history, the high expected cost, the local climate, and Qatar's human rights record. There have been numerous allegations of bribery between the Qatar bid committee and FIFA members and executives. Several FIFA members have since gone on record saying that the decision to award the tournament to Qatar was a "mistake", including Theo Zwanziger and ex-president Sepp Blatter.

One of the most touched-on issues of the Qatar world cup was the treatment of workers hired to build the infrastructure. Human Rights Watch and the International Trade Union Confederation allege that the Kafala system leaves migrant workers vulnerable to systematic abuse. Workers may not change jobs or even leave the country without their sponsor's permission. In November 2013, Amnesty International reported "serious exploitation", including workers having to sign false statements that they had received their wages in order to regain their passports. After visiting a labour camp, Sharan Burrows of the ITUC described the workers as "basically slaves" and added that "If two years on [since the award of the 2022 World Cup] the [Qatari] Government has not done the fundamentals, they have no commitment to human rights". The Qatar 2022 Committee said: "Our commitment is to change working conditions in order to ensure a lasting legacy of improved worker welfare. We are aware this cannot be done overnight. But the 2022 FIFA World Cup is acting as a catalyst for improvements in this regard". Even though in May 2014 Qatar promised reforms to help protect migrant laborers, one year later, little progress has been made. Even if reforms Qatar has promised are implemented, employers will still have considerable power over workers. For example, a proposed requirement that wages must be paid into a designated bank account will not cover laborers paid in cash. The blame of worker mistreatment could be seen to fall not only on the Qatari government, but also on the contractors that employ them.

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