Nico Schlotterbeck criticizes the World Cup being awarded to Qatar

Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck has openly criticized the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, per Sportschau.

With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar just weeks away, criticism of the competition’s location and timing continues to multiply. Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck has added to these criticisms in a recent interview, stating that there are indeed complications and implications surrounding the competition, which is set to begin on November 20th:

“That the World Cup does not belong in Qatar, we all know. That the World Cup doesn’t belong in the winter, but in the summer, we know that too.”

Of course, for a player of both Schlotterbeck’s age and quality, competing in the World Cup is one of his greatest aspirations. The 22 year old has become an integral figure in both Borussia Dortmund’s and Germany’s defence, which will surely mean the player will be an important figure in whatever run Germany puts together in the competition.

It is hard to of course ignore the human ramifications of the competition, with Qatar being criticized for human rights violations, (and rightly so). This of course sours the situation for Nico Schlotterbeck, who indicates that he was very young when the competition was awarded to Qatar and, like most of us, had no say as to where the competition would be held:

“I think as an athlete, the biggest goal is to be at a World Cup. I’m 22, this is my first World Cup, I think that’s what you dream of as a little boy. Then to say I’m not going there – that’s hard to imagine.”

“When the World Cup was awarded to Qatar, I was very young , I had no influence on anything, of course it’s a dilemma…[If I get selected in the Germany squad] I will give so much for my country, that the people in Germany will just be very happy.”

The competition will surely be a dilemma for more players competing. There is a very fine line that many footballers are currently walking regarding this competition. For many it will be the first World Cup they ever compete in, and considering that there are only a handful of such chances that a player has in their career, it is understandable to see where their internal conflict comes from.

That being said, there is far more that must be done across the entirety of the football community to make sure that controversial selections regarding which nation hosts the World Cup are not repeated. It is unfair to both fans and players to have to weigh their morality against a competition billions look forward to every four years, and it is of course criminal that those directly affected by the human rights abuses are shelved and cast aside in the name of a sport meant to bring the world together as a community driven by passion rather than cruelty.