With this World Cup in Qatar, discussions about human rights are high on the agenda. Activists, politicians and talkshows publicly condemn the violations of the oil state and raise the question whether a country like Qatar deserves to host a major international sporting event. But putting the spotlight on the violations in Qatar is also a convenient way to avoid evaluating the human rights situation in our own countries. The saddening status of Qatar makes us, in a way, feel better about our own relationship to human rights, even if there is also a lot to improve on in our nation.

That’s why Lack of Guidance and Manifold have created Nation of Violation, an awareness design project to encourage football fans to evaluate the human rights status of all 32 competing countries, while (literally) keeping their eyes on the ball. The core of the project is a uniquely designed football that showcases the truth about the human rights records and situation of a country. The ball is an assemblage of 30 diamond shapes — one for every human right. The shape is black when a human right is complied with, white when not. As a result, every football contains a different pattern for each competing country. The lighter the ball — the worse the human rights situation in the country is.