‘Football no longer belongs to everyone’: Openly gay Qatari on Saudi World Cup
The first openly gay Qatari with a global profile says he is ‘beyond disappointed’ after Saudi Arabia emerged as the sole candidate to host the 2034 World Cup.
Dr Nas Mohamed reacted with dismay to the desert kingdom becoming FIFA’s only applicant for the tournament in a fast-tracked bidding process which ended this week.
The LGBTQ+ leader, who lives in the US, accused the world governing body of ‘hypocrisy’ in going against its inclusive messaging and pledge to make the game ‘for everyone’.
‘I’m beyond disappointed and defeated but we won’t give up,’ he said.
‘Since I started my campaign and formed the Alwan Foundation, the most prominent LGBTQ+ person from Saudi Arabia left and joined me here in San Francisco. They have a very powerful voice in Arabic platforms.
‘They were in prison in Saudi Arabia for a year for their opinions asking for equality. Now they are here to take asylum.
‘This is the type of hypocrisy we have to stand up against.
‘Football no longer feels like it belongs to everyone.’
Saudi Arabia emerged as the only candidate for 2034 after Australia withdrew its rival bid in a process where FIFA unexpectedly gave eligible countries four weeks to submit their entries by Tuesday. The host nation will be confirmed by a FIFA congress in late 2024.
Amnesty International accused the governing body of ‘disregarding Saudi Arabia’s human rights record…without consideration of freedom of expression, discrimination or workers’ rights’.
‘I oppose giving a platform such as the World Cup to an authoritarian regime where any form of civil organisation is prohibited and punished,’ Dr Nas said. ‘It gives the illusion of freedom and free speech.’
The physician, 36, said he had received ‘thousands’ of death threats after posting pictures on his social media channels showing himself wearing a mixture of traditional Arabian dress and risqué party gear for San Francisco Pride in June this year.
He appeared in the ‘activism for fashion’ outfit after being chosen as a community grand marshal for the event by public vote.
Dr Nas, who goes by his gender-neutral first name, is no stranger to trolling after going public about his identity in May 2022, but has received many more messages of support.
His decision to step out of the shadows means he expects never to return to his homeland, which he last visited in 2014.
The activist has since claimed asylum in the US, where he runs the Osra Medical practice and heads the foundation, which fights for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the Gulf region.
‘It was an unapologetic expression of my background and identity,’ he said of his Pride outfit. ‘Some felt really liberated to see it, some saw it as a form of art, many saw it as a threat.
‘Free expression is not a threat. Giving some humans equal rights and freedom does not take freedom away from the rest.’
Dr Nas believes that visibility, as opposed to speaking from the shadows, is his best shield against hate and homophobia.
‘I got the most number of death threats this year when I served as a grand marshal at San Francisco Pride, they numbered in the thousands,’ he said.
‘But I won’t be silenced. I am now serving on the executive board of San Francisco Pride for the next four years.’
LGBTQ+ sexual relations are illegal in Saudi Arabia and can be subject to ‘severe penalties’, according to the British government.
The official travel advice also states that ‘transgender people travelling to Saudi Arabia are likely to face significant difficulties and risks if this is discovered by the authorities’.
The assessment jars with FIFA’s aim to use football as a ‘global movement to inspire, unite and develop through football’.
The governing body has said: ‘Football is for everyone.
‘We are committed to protecting and promoting all human rights and fighting all forms of discrimination, at all levels.’
In May, the website of the Saudi Tourism Authority appeared to say that LGBTQ+ travellers were welcome to visit.
In response to a question asking about the issue, a reply stated: ‘Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details.’
Metro.co.uk has approached FIFA and the Saudi government’s media office for comment.
MORE : First openly gay Qatari with global profile counters death threats with visibility
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