One of the only LGBT organisations based in the Gulf region has accused Fifa of putting a “Band-Aid” over Qatar’s treatment of LGBT people by holding meaningless meetings with advocacy groups as a public relations exercise – while privately treating the issues as a “distraction”. “They talked to us, we had so many different calls, and the last I heard from [Fifa] was more than a year ago – and they never followed up,” one of the founders of Ahwaa told i. Ahwaa has thousands of members throughout North Africa and the Middle East, providing an online platform where young LGBT people can securely communicate. Due to an increase in threats, the co-founder is unable to disclose her name publicly, but spoke to i to ensure the international community and the wider public understand what’s happening behind the scenes.