Ignoring FIFA: The Secret of Omelas

In Ursula Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, a frail child is chained

and incarcerated beneath the jovial city of Omelas, forced to eat citizen’s trash and left to

live in darkness covered in his own excrement. What is the reason for the child’s

punishment? There is none. The gross appeal of Le Guin’s story exists in its mystery:

What will happen to the town of Omelas if the child is set free? Instead of discovering,

those who cannot witness the injustice choose to walk away from the town of Omelas.

This haunting tale serves as a suitable metaphor for FIFA and the 2014 World Cup.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is a non-profit

organization worth more than $1.4 billion, which FIFA President Sepp Blatter was quick

to point out on Al Jazeera functions as a “reserve.” If this statement seems contentious, it

is an embodiment of what FIFA represents: controversy. Social media platforms erupted

this week after John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight unleashed a relentless tirade

highlighting the atrocities that FIFA and the Brazilian Government continues to commit

against millions of Brazilian citizens.

Riotous citizens have exploded throughout Brazil, urging the government to aid its

citizens adopting a poignant slogan: “Need Food, Not Football.” This phrase has been

etched on the sides of buildings, across pavement streets, and on the homes of outraged

citizens. The graffiti movement highlights the desperation with which Brazilian citizens

beg to be heard. These kinds of global injustices must not be allowed to continue.

However as if the FIFA scandal isn’t enough, Qatar, a modern slave state whose

citizens must request a visa from their work-master in order to leave the country, is

slotted to host the 2022 World Cup. At the time of its selection, Qatar did not have a

single soccer stadium to its name. As if this fact isn’t reason enough to deem it as a

location unfit to host the World Cup, the average summer temperature in Qatar is 122*

Fahrenheit. These temperatures are not suitable for a swimming meet, let alone ninety

minutes of professional soccer.

Qatar’s selection ignited mass upheaval amongst various countries whose

representatives vied for a chance to host the World Cup— most notably, Australian

Football Federation chairman Frank Lowy. Essentially, Lowy requested a refund of some

$40 million after sensing that the 2022 World Cup Qatar selection was less than fair. It is

believed that FIFA President Sepp Blatter accepted large sums of money from the oil-rich

nation in exchange for the bid. With the prospect of a 2022 World Cup in Qatar comes a

feeling of unrest and injustice.

I request that anyone who feels that these injustices must not continue joins me in a

national boycott of this summer’s World Cup. If this fails to get the attention of FIFA, the

boycott must continue through the refusal to purchase FIFA Soccer videogames (some of

the highest grossing videogames in history). Until the injustices cease, the boycott should

last through the coming years and up until the next World Cup in 2018.

I implore that someone see this article and voice your feelings. I do not have a voice

that will reach millions, but perhaps someone who will read this does. Robert Frost

asked, “How many things must happen to you before something occurs to you?” Let this

be your mindset. Wake up and witness the injustices that FIFA has committed. Let your

voice be heard.