FOX Sports’ World Cup coverage is sponsored by Qatar Airways and ‘underwritten by Qatari government’

FOX Sports’ coverage of the World Cup, which will not address the host nation’s human rights record, is notably sponsored by state-owned airline Qatar Airways, it has emerged. 

FOX Sports has the rights in the US to the English-language coverage of the tournament held in Qatar but announced it will focus on the on-field action, rather than addressing the country’s human rights record. 

While FOX’s plan is similar to the strategy it took when covering the previous World Cup in Russia in 2018, there is a notable addition to its coverage this year – its sponsor.

Qatar Airways, the state-owned airline, will serve as a major sponsor of FOX’s coverage, which means its production in Qatar is essentially being underwritten by the Qatari government, according to The Washington Post.  

In June, David Neal, executive producer of FOX’s World Cup coverage, told Sports Business Journal that the network will send a ‘little army’ of 150 staffers and announcers to Qatar and that it would be the first American network to have commentators in stadiums for all World Cup games. 

However, according to the report, sources familiar with FOX’s plans revealed the network was initially planning to use mostly remote production and send a minimal contingent of staffers and talent to Qatar.

The network’s plans only changed once the deal with Qatar Airways was agreed and finalized. 

The agreement reportedly included comped flights to the host nation, presumably on the state-owned airline. 

In October, FOX insisted it will focus on soccer not the controversial tournament’s host country and its human rights record or treatment of migrant workers. 

In a news conference last month, the channel was asked how it was planning to cover Qatar’s human rights record.  

Neal responded: ‘Our stance is if it affects what happens on the field of play, we will cover it and cover it fully.

‘But if it does not, if it is ancillary to the story of the tournament, there are plenty of other entities and outlets out there that are going to cover that. We firmly believe the viewers come to us to see what happens on the field, on the pitch.’   

The relationship between the airline and network dates back to last year, when Qatar Airways announced a partnership with Concacaf and was the primary sponsor for FOX’s Gold Cup coverage, including signage on its studio set.

The World Cup has been widely criticized as a ‘sportswashing’ exercise in the buildup to the tournament with Qatar said to be hoping to use the event to showcase the country to the rest of the world. 

A key component of its strategy is to have the American network in the country, the report adds. 

According to the sources familiar with the deal, FOX executives celebrated the deal because the network can deliver a more robust broadcast to viewers but won’t have to pay for it.

In a statement, FOX said: ‘Qatar Airways is a major sponsor of FIFA World Cup 2022 and will have significant presence across our entire coverage of the tournament. 

‘They, along with our portfolio of blue-chip sponsors, allow us the opportunity to present unrivaled coverage of what arguably stands to be one of the best World Cups ever with the long-awaited return of the U.S. Men’s National Team.’ 

Asked if the Qatar Airways sponsorship had any impact on its coverage, a FOX spokesman said, ‘Absolutely not.’ 

FOX agreed to pay more than $400million to broadcast the men’s and women’s World Cups from 2015 to 2023, while Telemundo, which has the rights to Spanish-language coverage of the tournament in the US, has paid around $600m for the four tournaments, according to the New York Times. 

The total cost for the rights racks up to a record $1billion, reportedly more than double the combined $425m that ESPN ($100m) and Univision ($325m) paid for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 

But in stark comparison to FOX, this year Telemundo has provided a different stance on the Qatari controversies.

Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren said: ‘I do think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the tournament’s over, we [won’t have been] ignoring the geopolitical issues that might arise.’

A spokeswoman for Telemundo, which is owned by Comcast, later added that it would follow the example set by NBC Sports and its coverage of the Winter Olympics in China earlier this year. 

The network’s hosts discussed the alleged Uyghur genocide during coverage of the Opening Ceremonies.

Telemundo is expecting to address the human rights issue in Qatar, which includes the treatment of migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ community, during the opening day coverage Sunday and throughout the tournament. 

Warren also said that Telemundo’s news division and sister network, NBC, will cover the events in Qatar, in addition to the sports side. 

Qatar Airways is not a sponsor of Telemundo’s coverage, a spokesperson confirmed.  

Western media and World Cup squads themselves have already taken stances on the host nation’s record. 

Earlier this week, the USMNT unveiled redesigned badges during training to feature the rainbow flag, in a bid to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

As recently as this month, a Qatar World Cup ambassador told a German TV broadcaster that homosexuality was ‘damage to the mind’, and it remains illegal to be gay in the conservative Muslim country.

The USMNT appear to have made an immediate stand on their arrival in Doha, though, by changing the usual red stripes on their crest to a rainbow around their team base.

Pictures from the Al Gharrafa SC Stadium in Ar-Rayyan, where the US team trained on Monday, showed a huge US crest on the wall, alongside the slogan ‘One Nation’. 

It is understood the crest on the team’s kits on the field won’t be changed, but the new colors will be shown off at their practice facilities. 

The US team also trained with a construction crew this week amid criticism of Qatar’s treatment of the migrant workers that built the stadiums for the tournament. 

Before the tournament has even begun, Qatar has faced criticism and backlash to its handling of the event. 

FIFA announced Thursday that alcohol will no longer be sold inside the stadiums during the tournament. 

Qatar is a typically teetotal nation where tourists can only buy or consume alcohol inside licensed hotels or restaurants. Exemptions for the World Cup would have meant fans were able to buy beers in special ‘fan zones’ or on stadium concourses.

But Qatar seems to have reneged on part of that deal, meaning beer can now only be sold only inside the ‘fan zones’. 

Tuesday, a Danish reporter, Rasmus Tantholdt, faced threats from Qatari security staff to destroy his camera as he reported live on air. 

FOX’s’ all-star commentators for this month’s Qatar World Cup will be presenting from an LED screen practice pitch across four stages as part of a multi-million-dollar setup on the Corniche of the nation’s capital, Doha. 

Their studio, located close to the fan zones in Doha, is certainly set up for an on-field focus. Speaking of the set, which has been revealed for the first time today, Neal said: ‘The practice pitch is a giant LED screen. To the viewer, it will look like a piece of grass.

‘The set has physical attributes to it. It has pieces which will accurately reflect the culture and architecture of Qatar, and that part of the world. So those pieces will actually come across better if they’re there rather than being virtually there. It’s a blend. It’s a hybrid.’

FOX say the set will span 148-foot x 33-foot across two stories. There are 20 LED screens as part of the production – as well as the LED ‘pitch’.

Among the analysts on FOX will be former USMNT stars Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey.

The World Cup begins on Sunday, November 20, with USA kicking off their campaign against Wales the following day, before facing England on November 25 and Iran on November 29.