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A sign for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Doha's Corniche
Photo:
Adam Davy / dpa
In the foyer of the SPIEGEL building in Hamburg, a sentence by Rudolf Augstein has been attached to the wall in curved letters: "Say what is." These three words of the former editor stand for the self-image of the house, they are also intended to provide orientation in phases of doubt.
We talked for a long time about how we want to deal journalistically with the soccer World Cup, which starts this Sunday in Qatar - due to human rights violations and allegations of corruption, one of the most controversial sporting events in history.
Ultimately, we let ourselves be guided by Augstein.
The list of criticism is long
We will report critically from the World Cup in Qatar, as our readers are used to.
We will not lose sight of the political side of this event.
Right now it is important to pay special attention.
It is part of SPIEGEL's self-image that our work only really begins once the results have been reported.
But we will also write about spectacular victories, dramatic defeats, great shots on goal, and also about bizarre and trifles on the side.
Our readership has a right to be informed by us.
And we know that despite everything, people are interested in what is happening around this World Cup.
more on the subject
Did Qatar buy the World Cup?: How Fifa chased the last vestige of their dignity into the desertBy Jürgen Dahlkamp, Gunther Latsch and Jens Weinreich
Before the start of the tournament: That's why the World Cup in Qatar is so discredited by Jonas Kraus
Soccer fans and the Qatar dilemma: "Oh, you're watching the World Cup?" by Jochen-Martin Gutsch
Qatar and Co. – the uncanny financial power of the Gulf: The world visiting despots
Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar: schedule, results, groups
In the past few days and weeks we have reported in many articles about why the World Cup is so controversial.
The list of criticisms is long: the disregard for human rights, the exploitation of migrant workers, the corruption in procurement, the absurdly high expenditures for the stadiums, the instrumentalization of sport for political purposes.
We informed, analysed, commented.
We will continue to do so without neglecting the entertainment value of football, which despite the odds, is still there.
That will often be a fine line.
Five reporters on site
We have decided to send five colleagues to Qatar: Peter Ahrens, Jan Göbel, Daniel Montazeri, Gerhard Pfeil and Marc Hujer will report from there.
A large team of editors will also prepare the events from Hamburg.
Sport under scandalous circumstances has existed before: let's think of 1978, when not far from the final venue of the World Cup in Argentina, the military junta was used to torture people.
It is all the more important to take a better look and report better.