Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is questioning her plan to travel to Qatar for the World Cup. According to a survey, around ten percent of Germans are also unsure whether they want to follow the games. Meanwhile, more than half of those surveyed say they don't follow the tournament.
According to a survey by "Sportschau", a majority of Germans are planning a personal boycott of the World Cup in Qatar. In a representative Infratest Dimap survey commissioned by the ARD program, 56 percent of those questioned stated that they did not want to watch "any games" in the coming weeks. Another 15 percent want to watch "fewer games", only 18 percent "just as many" as before.
The most important reason for rejection is the disinterest in football in general. Half of the "boycotters" are simply not interested in football. The majority of those who are interested in football and yet want to follow the World Cup less or not at all justify their decision with the political situation in Qatar (41 percent). The opaque award by FIFA (30 percent) and the lack of sustainability of the stadiums (22 percent) were also frequently mentioned. A total of 1225 citizens were surveyed on November 8th and 9th. Around every tenth citizen (9 percent) is still unsure whether he will watch World Cup games.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is also unsure about her travel plans to the controversial and much-discussed football spectacle in Qatar. "I'll see if I can manage to travel next week," said Faeser in Berlin. At the beginning of the month, during a visit to the World Cup host country, she announced that she wanted to travel to the German group match against Japan on November 23rd. It is the start of the DFB-Elf in the tournament, followed by games against Spain and Costa Rica.
As part of her hesitation, Faeser was asked about statements by Qatar's World Cup ambassador, Khalid Salman, who described homosexuality as "mental harm". Faeser first referred to the "security guarantee" that she said she had received from Qatar's Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Chalid bin Chalifa Al-Thani. Accordingly, all fans should be able to "move freely and without fear" during the tournament from November 20th to December 18th. Faeser emphasized that this security guarantee continues to be the benchmark for them. Only when asked again did she put her previous travel plans into perspective.
