Forsman & Bodenfors

Client: Forza Football / Blankspot
Product: Independent Journalism
Title: Cards of Qatar
Media: Ambient, Event, Out of Home, Online, PR, Social
Country: Global
Date Of Campaign: July 2022

Background: Since Qatar was awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup, thousands of migrant workers have died or been injured while preparing for the tournament. In search for answers, investigative journalism platform Blankspot and local journalists collected stories of migrant workers directly from family members and widows they left behind.

Idea: We designed a catalogue of football cards, but instead of players, they reveal stories about the migrant workers that never returned. The cards were placed in a handmade box with graphics inspired by the real World Cup and sent out to relevant stakeholders such as players, politicians, journalists, and workers’ organizations. To raise further awareness we created a short documentary, posters, an interactive site, and made the cards available for free in-store, right next to the official FIFA cards.

Results: The cards are currently being exhibited at Denmark’s Design Museum and National Football Museum in Manchester. The posters have been used in over 40 manifestations in churches, discussions and schools across the globe. By visualizing journalism in a completely new way, Cards of Qatar created a global debate and put a spotlight on the people who truly built the World Cup — and will continue to live on long after the final game was played.