Awareness is indeed good, and it has exposed FIFA a bit too, but

obviously awareness isn't going to really achieve any change at a state level.

People are quite rightly saying the real protest should have been when it was announced, rather than now. A boycott etc. However, while that may well have influenced FIFA against choosing countries with such laws in the future, I don't believe for one moment that it would have influenced any change in Qatar regarding the homosexuality laws. Perhaps it might have influenced a change in the rights of migrant workers (Qatar claims it already has).

The amalgamation of religion and state is where this problem originates. For a country like Qatar, where Salafism is the state sponsored religion, and very unlikely to change when it's ruled by a royal family for the foreseeable, means that they won't even see relaxing those laws as their choice. They are simply safeguarding the will of God.

Changing LGBTQI+ rights in Qatar would require a revolution and therefore the CIA, not Harry Kane's arm band.

Posted By: Legacy Fan, Nov 21, 11:33:54