Qatar 2022 whistleblower: Abdullah Ibhais on prison, pressure, and media control

“Silence is sport’s worst enemy!”That is the message from Qatar 2022 whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais, the former media manager for Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, who paid a heavy price for speaking out about the treatment of migrant workers ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.In the opening episode of the Play the Game Podcast, Stanis Elsborg speaks with Ibhais in an exclusive interview about the latest developments in his case.After travelling to Norway to speak publicly about FIFA, Qatar, and the World Cup, Ibhais says he was stopped at the airport on his return to Jordan, questioned, and had his passport confiscated.The episode also features Ibhais’ powerful presentation from Play the Game 2025, where he describes Qatar’s media strategy in the years leading up to the tournament — a strategy he sums up as: “Deflect, discredit, and deny.”This is the story of an insider turned whistleblower – a story about prison, pressure, media control, FIFA, migrant workers, and the global politics behind Qatar 2022. Host: Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the GameGuest: Abdullah Ibhais, whistleblower, communications and advocacy consultant, Jordan*This episode is produced by Play the Game* Music: I Walk With Ghosts by Scott Buckley