We used a global moment in media and PR, the World Cup, to shift the narrative. It wasn’t just about football in Qatar, it was about a community who wasn’t allowed to exist. The LBGTQ+ Qatari community. The Proud Maroons got coverage with BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Time Magazine, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and dozens more, reaching billions of people. Sharing Qatari stories, raising donations, and ultimately helping the Humans Rights Watch create the first ever document on the LGBTQ+ Qatari persecution.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup was designed to showcase Qatar was a modern and progressive country to the world. Qatari leaders as well as officials from FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, have insisted for years that the World Cup would be open for everyone to enjoy — including members of the LGBTQ community. This is despite the host country’s laws restricting same-sex sexual activity, which can carry a punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment and physical and psychological torture. With 6 billion viewers tuning in from every continent, all eyes were on Qatar for the World Cup. There was no better time and no better stage to bring global visibility to the Qatari LGBTQ+ community—one that isn’t allowed to exist.

To bring global visibility to the LGBTQ+ Qatari community during the World Cup we gave the Qatar National Football team its first ever LGBTQ+ national supporters group. The Proud Maroons. The only LGBTQ+ national football group that can’t have fans living in its own country. Because they would be punished. While most football supporters’ groups are set up to bring like-minded fans together, The Proud Maroons was created to highlight Qatar persecution of its own LGBTQ+ citizens.

The World Cup is one of the largest global sporting events. Every single publication and news station talks about it, writes about it, and follows it. We capitalized on the 6 million people tuning into not only the World Cup, but the location of the games, Qatar, by creating the first LGBTQ+ national football supporters group in the Gulf Region, The Proud Maroons. Our audience was everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, and every ally, outside of Qatar. Because within Qatar, it isn’t safe to be LGBTQ+. While pushing forward with the organic campaign via social media and partnerships, Dr. Nas Mohamed, our president, was sharing his story, and The Proud Maroons, across most major networks globally. Tying the relevancy of our efforts to the games seamlessly.

We launched The Proud Maroons right before the World Cup opening game. We invited the global LGBTQ+ community and allies to share their pride and support using our filter, or posting a kiss or hug during Qatar games. We also invited them to donate to The Alwan Foundation and purchase merchandise where all net profits went to help Qatari LGBTQ+ individuals through support, advocacy, and research. The Proud Maroons was featured on The Guardian and our President, Dr. Nas Mohamed, was interviewed across major news stations and publications around the world, from the UK to the US to Brazil. And within just a few weeks, with a lot of help from the broader LGBTQ+ community and football groups around the globe, The Proud Maroons became the largest LGBTQ+ football supporters group in the history of the World Cup.

As the campaign took off, we found incredible strength from partnerships and individuals alike, including official supporters groups from Chelsea, Liverpool, LA Galaxy, 3 Lions Pride, as well as organizations like Stonewall, pro LGBTQ+ football players like Vicky Losada and Antonio Hysén, influencers like Brazilian actor Bruno Gagliasso and the U.S Senator Scott Wiener. The Proud Maroons was also featured on the BBC, CNN, Time, the Guardian, and Outsports, and our president even appeared on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. In just weeks, The Proud Maroons even became the biggest LGTBQ+ national football supporters group in the world having more followers than 3 Lions Pride or Gay Gooners. All in all, the campaign had 2.33 billion impressions with no paid media, and helped The Alwan Foundation raise tens of thousands of dollars in donations, not including merchandise sales. More than raising awareness on the LGBTQ+ persecution in Qatar, we were able to prove it’s real. Real LGBTQ+ Qataris anonymously shared their personal stories of persecution with our President - helping the Humans Rights Watch to create the first ever document on the LGBTQ+ Qatari Community.

Qatar hosted the biggest sporting event on the planet - the World Cup - to launder its poor Human Rights image. And while the whole world was talking about LGBTQ+ tourists' rights and the “rainbow flag” prohibition, no one was talking about the Qatari LGBTQ+ community. The country denies the existence of a local LGBTQ+ community but at the same time tortures them behind closed doors. Our goal was to bring global visibility to a community forced to hide or face the consequences. Proud Maroons received 17 life threatening messages from different parts of the Gulf Region - 90% of them from Qatar. Real LGBTQ+ Qataris anonymously shared their stories of persecution with our President, helping the Humans Rights Watch create the first ever document on the LGBTQ+ Qatari Community.