Right before the World Cup in Qatar 2022 FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed that this would become “the best World Cup ever”, despite harsh criticism of the event, especially in Western media. Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was conducted to examine how Austrian newspapers and magazines covered the 2022 World Cup compared to FIFA. The journalistic media fulfilled their role as “detached observers” and provided critical coverage before and even after the event started. They reported on media censorship, allegations of corruption and fraud by FIFA and Qatar, climate, human rights and discrimination, protests, and political statements. FIFA made extensive use of their communication channels but did not include critical coverage. A boycott of the Austrian media would have prevented fans from finding out about the mistakes made by FIFA and Qatar, as the World Cup reached an “all but uncontroversial final round in Qatar” that “produced an uncontroversial new football world champion” (APA, Argentinien bot auch im Finale Drama vom Feinsten. [Argentina delivered drama at its finest in the final]. [Accessible Version: Salzburger Nachrichten: https://www.sn.at/sport/fussball/wm-2022/argentinien-bot-auch-im-finale-drama-vom-feinsten-131404816 ], 2022).