A football team in Germany took to the field completely naked and played in front of the crowd without any clothes. The match was a stunt to record a protest against the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since 2010 when the country was awarded hosting rights of the 2022 tournament.
Different Football teams have been staging on-field protests to highlight Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers. However, none has taken it to the unclad level like the football game played in Germany.
The match was played in the German city of Duisburg on September 4. The players of one football team wore standard white kits while the other team’s players were naked, except for the socks and shoes.
It is the first time the Duisburg crowd has witnessed a team playing completely naked in front of at least 300 people. The no-clothes-on team is called “Nacktionalmannschaft”, a wordplay of the German words for “nude” and “national team.”
As a dissent for the 2022 World Cup, the team posed for a picture with “Boycott Qatar 22” on their exposed backs. The participants comprised both male and female players.
Dressed in a pair of boots and socks, the players had their numbers painted on their backs. The match itself was a draw, with each team scoring eight goals.
The bizarre football match is the brainchild of a German performance artist Gerrit Starchevski.
Starczewski who is also a filmmaker had built up the match through his Instagram page.
According to the filmmaker, the football match is not only a “stark” way to record protest but also a furious display of artistry for connoisseurs.
“Everyone on the field is not only a player but also a kind of performance artist. A game such as there has never been before in the vastness of the football planet, a team in jerseys against a nude 11,” Gerrit said.
It is not the first time Starczewski has staged a no-clothes-on protest. Previously, he had used a naked team in order to protest against the commercialization of professional football.
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