A group of human rights organisations have called on fans to boycott the FIFA Men’s World Cup quarter-final – which takes place on United Nations’ ‘International Day of Human Rights’ on 10 December – through a Qatar 2022 protest campaign called ‘Football Blackout For Human Rights’.
Created by Berlin-based creative agency Heimat, the campaign is backed by a group of human rights charities and NGOs including the association Loud Against Nazis and a protest movement called Boycott Qatar 2022.
The initiative publicises concerns and criticisms over women’s, LGBT and migrant worker rights in host nation Qatar and also highlights the country’s lack of democracy and the tournament’s negative environmental impact.
The goal is that on Saturday, 10 December, as many people as possible turn off, tune out and don’t watch the World Cup and do something else instead.
Based around a website at footballblackout.org, the campaign explains and outlines exactly why everyone – even the most fervent footballs fans – should switch off and boycott the tournament on 10 December.
The site enables people to sign up to sign a Pledge List and then to download creative assets, imagery and statements designed for social media sharing. It then encourages and invites supporters to post these assets across their personal social channels stating that they won’t be watching the quarter-final games and why in order to further spread the message and build the movement using the hashtag #footballblackout
The campaign also offers a range of ‘Football Blackout’ merchandise – including hoodies and t-shirts – with profits being directly donated to support the cause.
“It is perhaps more important than ever to turn off the television – as a strong signal against human rights violations,” commented Loud Againast Nazis Founder Jörn Menge. “A number of German artists and influencers have supported the initiative. The ‘brewhouse’ chain BRLO, known for public sports screenings, is also on board – screens will remain black on 10 December.”
“We thought the idea was great right away,” added Patrick Jelen from Boycott Qatar 2022. “Our mission is to get people to boycott the entire tournament. A social media campaign that empowers everyone in Germany and worldwide to express their protest fits perfectly.”
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This is one of many powerful and inventive Qatar 2022 protests campaigns: other notable examples range from the ‘One Love’ campaign (created by the Dutch FA for the World Cup to raise awareness against LGBTQ+ discrimination in football and wider society which will see several European team captains wear a rainbow armband during games), to official DBU supplier Hummel’s toned down official kit initiative, ambusher BrewDog’s ‘Proud Anti-Sponsor’ campaign and media non-profits Blankspot & Forza Football ‘Cards Of wqatar’ protest.
Indeed, there are also parallel campaigns in Spain and in France where several major cities have refused to show games. For example, Barcelona will not offer public viewing venues to watch Spain’s games at the World Cup as Mayor Of Barcelona Ada Colau stated that the city doesn’t support holding the tournament in a dictatorship. While in France, local authorities in Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Nancy, Paris, Reims and Rodez have all announced they will not install giant screens (as in the past) to show matches.
Human Rights Day itself is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations. The day is usually marked both by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues.
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