The football magazine Josimar receives support for a special issue on the World Cup in Qatar

April 25 2022

The football magazine Josimar has been granted NOK 500 000 in support for investigative journalism to cover corruption and human rights abuse in international top football. The support will be used, among other things, for a special issue on abuses of human rights against migrant workers in Qatar.

Josimar editor Håvard Melnæs in Qatar. Photo: Josimar

Josimar is the Norwegian editor-controlled medium that has written the most about the processes in the run-up to the Football World Cup in Qatar ever since the country was awarded the role of host in 2010. After being the first to cover the corruption surrounding the choice of venue, since 2015, Josimar’s editorial board has worked to look into the working conditions for foreign workers there. In addition to covering the preparations for the World Cup in Qatar, for several years, Josimar has been delving into the corruption in top football in Africa and in relation to the Football World Cup in Russia in 2018. Several investigative projects have been carried out in collaboration with major international media outlets like BBC and The Guardian.

“It’s quite a long time since football was only a question of football – joy, solidarity, ups and downs, and 40 bathroom stops with the supporters’ buss in the 40 km between Oslo and Drammen. These days, football is big politics, and that has been the case for an exceptionally long time”, observes Josimar’s editor Håvard Melnæs.

“Josimar is committed to providing dependable international-class journalism on corruption and other crime in top football, and to pointing out how inbred the field is in terms of power, finances and politics. We are delighted to support this kind of journalism”, comments Knut Olav Åmås, executive director of Fritt Ord.

“This money gives us the opportunity to continue our investigative journalism in fields that major media outlets tend to avoid in their quest for clicks and more clicks”, concludes Håvard Melnæs.
Josimar was recently named Journal of the Year by the Norwegian Association of the Periodical Press.

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