The portrayal of non-western sports hosts in International Media: A comparative analysis of BBC, Al Jazeera English, and RT's coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

This study examines how three global news websites—Al Jazeera English (AJE), BBC World News, and RT English—framed Qatar's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup over nine years prior to the event. It finds that while all outlets prominently covered social issues related to migrant workers and security concerns, migrant workers themselves were rarely cited as sources, with official international sources dominating coverage. The conflict frame was the most commonly used across the sites, followed by attribution of responsibility, whereas human interest and morality frames were infrequently employed. Differences emerged among the outlets: AJE focused more on infrastructure and political issues with greater use of official Qatari sources, BBC emphasized international official sources with less local input, and RT relied heavily on unofficial international sources. The findings highlight challenges non-Western hosts face in shaping positive international media narratives amid prevailing critical and conflict-oriented coverage.