Out English Soccer Star Jake Daniels 'Not Happiest' about World Cup in Qatar

Around the world, soccer fans of all persuasions have questioned why a country with a record of human rights abuses like Qatar – especially when it comes to its treatment of LGBTQ+ people – would be handed the privilege of hosting this year's World Cup.

Those fans are not alone; out soccer star Jake Daniels slammed the decision in an interview with Vogue.

Saying that he's "not the happiest" to see the nation (where being gay can be met with heavy punishment, including the death penalty) take the prize of hosting the tournament, the 17-year-old player – who, despite his youth, is the only pro British footballer to come out in more than 30 years – said that he understands why players would participate even if doing so violates their consciences.

"I know [some] people wanted to boycott it, which would have been good, but the World Cup's massive," Daniels told the publication. "If you're comfortable to go and do it, you do it."

But not everyone is comfortable; Australian soccer star Josh Cavallo, who inspired Daniels when he became the first top-flight male player in the world to come out – has said that he would be "scared" to play in Qatar, and finds his team playing there to be "quite concerning..."

Daniels appeared to share the sentiment. "It would frustrate me, because why am I trying to hide my personal life for other people?"
the youthful trailblazer reflected in his comments to Vogue. "Like, I'm going to play football for you and you can't respect how I want to be, so it's just not what I want to do."

The whole world is not Qatar, of course, and since coming out in May, Daniels has experienced a wave of support from "everyone from Prince William to England captain Harry Kane," according to Vogue.

"Since then, his Instagram following has grown to more than 85,000, and counting, and he's gained the kind of cool, change-making aura that's catnip to sponsors," Vogue added. "He took part in Adidas's 2022 Pride campaign."

And, like Cavallo before him, Daniels is now "a role model in his own right," Vogue observed. "You might even credit the 'Jake effect' for another footballer, Scottish striker Zander Murray, coming out in September."

"I've been inspirational, but that's not the label I should have," the athlete told Vogue. "That's just my life."

Still, Daniels is aware of the impact he's made (and continues to make). "I want to push the community to get where it should be, especially in football and all sport," he told Vogue, going on to say that social media messages to him included "people's mums saying, 'You've made my son come out.'"

"That's an impact I wanted to have."