大象传媒

Rabih Alameddine is an award winning Lebanese-American novelist and painter. His books cover topics including the AIDs epidemic, the Lebanese civil war, exile and gender identity. He鈥檚 also a huge football fan and a founder of gay soccer team The San Francisco Spikes.

Alameddine has written prolifically on the subject of football, often discussing how masculinity and queerness are viewed within the sport.

This year the Fifa World Cup is being held in Qatar. The country鈥檚 been gearing up for this huge event commissioning a broad array of art projects. However, human rights groups have raised issues regarding the treatment of foreign labourers building the stadia. There are also concerns for LGBTQ+ fans attending the matches, in a country where homosexuality remains illegal.

Alameddine spoke to The Cultural Frontline about what hosting the World Cup in an Arab country means for the region, the political and moral quandaries, and the ability of football to bring people together:

"During the civil war in Lebanon, during the World Cup there would be no shooting, there would be no fighting."

(Photo: Rabih Alameddine. Credit: 大象传媒)

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