Why does South America not seem to care about corruption issues in the World Cup?

The FIFA World Cup is the sporting event that has attracted the broadest international audience throughout its history. Even though only 32 countries qualify to play in the final rounds, millions of football fans around the globe watch it. Everyone watches the same game, but not the same media coverage. In this case, Latin American media’s reporting of this World Cup was vastly different from other Western coverage, and this was due to differences in cultures, politics, and history. 

This year, the World Cup has taken place in Qatar and was overshadowed by severe corruption scandals surrounding its organization and the discriminatory anti-LGTBQ policies the host country holds. This has made many football fans all over the world boycott the tournament, while some mainstream media outlets criticized the organizer, FIFA, for allowing Qatar to host the games.

The link between football and politics has always been strong. Football and politics do not live worlds apart, and it’s not the first time it’s been held in a controversial setting. For example, the World Cup of 1934 was held in Mussolini’s Italy, in 1978 Argentina hosted it in the midst of a terrible military dictatorship, and in 2018 it was Putin’s Russia that held the event. In each case, the perception of politics within the World Cup varies greatly depending on where it is being watched.