The captains of England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland and Wales plan to wear a special armband at the World Cup in Qatar as part of the "OneLove" campaign against discrimination.
"OneLove" Anti-Discrimination Armbands
The OneLove campaign was started by the Netherlands and the seven other countries listed above have all pledged their support to the cause by having their national team captain wear a multicoloured armband during World Cup games in Qatar. The campaign will supposedly "use the power of football to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind as the eyes of the world fall on the global game".
Ahead of wearing the armband for the first time against Italy, Harry Kane was wheeled out to spout the following scripted line, among others:
“As captains, we may all be competing against each other on the pitch, but we stand together against all forms of discrimination."
The heart shaped logo with "OneLove" branding and multi-colour stripes are intended to "symbolise the message" of inclusivity. The move has been rightly called out as a token gesture, undertaken to garner good publicity for the participating nations rather than to make any real difference to the state of affairs in Qatar.
The football associations of each country remained silent on the highly discriminatory goings-on in Qatar during the preparation for the tournament, made possible by horribly treated, underpaid, or in some cases worked-to-death migrant labourers, in a country where homosexuality is illegal and women's rights are restricted. They will all profit heavily from this World Cup while hoping their armbands will mark them out as the good guys as they reap the fruits of the discrimination they claim to oppose.
The ever-morally devoid FIFA may have something to say about these armbands, which seem to go against their rules relating to kits and equipment, as seen below.
The Daily Mail report that FIFA have not yet granted permission for the use of the special armbands, and their good friends at the Qatari FA are probably not too pleased about the idea of this kind of on-pitch statement happening on their own turf.
What do you think of this campaign? Do you think it will make any difference whatsoever? Comment below.