Did you watch Japan versus Germany? What about England? Costa Rica?
These countries, among others, have been brought up and focused on in countless conversations not only in Great Neck, but across the world for the last few weeks due to their participation in one of the most popular international events of the year: the World Cup. The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been generating massive hype, and is projected to be the most watched World Cup of all time, expected to reel in 5 billion viewers over the entire event.
However, this hype does not exist without its fair share of controversy. Qatar, the host country, is under fire due to its precedent for systematic homophobia and misogyny, which is disturbing not only to Western visitors, but to the populus affected by the seemingly heavy bigotry in Qatari society.

“…It’s definitely something for visitors to be worried about. Earlier this year, a World Cup official had to flee Qatar because she got raped and refused to marry the man that raped her, and that would’ve made her face… several years of jail time,” said sophomore Antonio Kawai.
This public outcry for social justice is a result of the apparent political oppression that has a looming presence in the host country, which has also been infiltrating the social sphere. This includes the World Cup itself, as former Qatari national team soccer player Khalid Salman propagated this homophobia publicly, threatening the LGBTQ+ population that visits Qatar for the World Cup.
This outreach from the Qatari government spans to social media platforms such as Twitter, where hate is being spewed toward the LGBTQ+ community, remarking that they are “Satan’s tools of destruction,” according to World Cup marketing director Al-Kawari.
Even Qatari Members of Parliament, journalists, and World Cup organizers have accepted this nationwide effort to condemn pro-LGBTQ+ dissenters, using their platform to deface many members of the community that have spoken out against homophobia in Qatari society. This has even prompted LGBTQ+ soccer fan groups in the U.K. to boycott the World Cup in Qatar and its viewing.

Despite the global pushback due to this controversy, the World Cup is a hot topic in Great Neck, being discussed in the hallways between each class and on the tongues of residents throughout town. Classes have been redirected to the matches, with some even turning on the game in the background of lessons due to its popularity amongst students.
“Japan won 2-0 against Germany, but they lost 0-1 to Costa Rica. Really? That is absolutely crazy to me,” said senior Sheng Cui.

Students have devoutly followed their favorite teams in the event, which, ironically, has been almost universally decided to not be Qatar. Qatar’s team has not had a strong performance in the World Cup, being the first host nation to lose their opening game at the World Cup, in this case, to Ecuador.

“Well, Qatar has has been doing really poorly, and the only reason they’re in the World Cup the first place is because they hosted it. They’re ranked 50 in overall and have no real future,” said sophomore Isaac Yan.
Whether they watch it in class, during a free period, or with their family and friends, the World Cup has still been able to cause a means for discussion and togetherness in Great Neck, and will continue to do so as the matches continue.