In conversation with Abdullah Ibhais, Qatar World Cup whistleblower

During the final day of the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum, I hosted a fireside chat with Abdullah Ibhais—the former media manager jailed for refusing to spin Qatar's migrant worker abuses ahead of the 2022 World Cup—where he delved into the entire affair in detail. During our 45-minute sit down, Abdullah delved into his role as a media manager for Qatar’s Supreme Organizing Committee, the incidents that made him realize that Qatar was hiding migrant abuses, and the series of events that led to him languishing in prison while Qatar put on one of the “greatest World Cups of all time.” While Abdullah’s bravery was undeniable, it was his poise and brutal honesty that I found most admirable. Despite enduring more suffering in three years than most people face in a lifetime, he carried himself with quiet grace, reflecting more on the meaning of his experience than on retribution. As an Egyptian, I felt an immediate kinship with this Jordanian man. We were both outsiders in the modern Arab world—lonely contrarians pushing back against the rise of Gulf state supremacy, both feeling unmoored in a region that no longer seemed to have a place for us. Get full access to Sports Politika at www.sportspolitika.news/subscribe