(Football news) The Qatar 2022 World Cup has been marred by controversy ever since the country was announced as a host on 2nd December 2010. There have been allegations of bribery to FIFA officials amounting to an estimated $880 million in secret deals to the human rights violations. Moreover, the World Cup is traditionally held in the summer months but with temperatures in Qatar reaching upto 50 °C (122 °F), the 2022 edition will be held in the months of November and December, resulting in a complete overhaul of club calendars for the year as the international tournament will take place in the middle of the domestic seasons.
According to a media report, an estimated 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have lost their lives in Qatar during the preparations for the 2022 World Cup with harsh working conditions, wage abuse, lack of rights to migrant workers cited as some other factors that have resulted in protests amongst international football teams against the World Cup. Despite Qatar’s government telling Al Jazeera that they have made several reforms over the years to improve working conditions and labour rights, it has done little to pacify many who are appalled by the death toll and the state of affairs leading to the tournament.
Amnesty International have sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, asking the football authority to use its leverage against the Qatari authorities to end the abuse of migrant workers. The Netherlands national team have publicly expressed support for the migrant workers by wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the words “Football supports change”. The Norwegian players wore t-shirts stating “HUMAN RIGHTS” and “On and off the pitch”. The German team wore black shirts, each with a single letter that spelled “HUMAN RIGHTS” when they stood together.
In August 2020, Qatar announced changes to the labour law, including removing the need for an NOC – requiring the employers permission to switch jobs and said it has “always been transparent about the health and safety of workers”. A spokesperson said “Since construction [of stadiums] began in 2014, there have been three work-related fatalities and 35 non-work-related deaths,” a representative said. “The SC [organising committee] has investigated each case, learning lessons to avoid any repeat in the future.”
Qatar’s Government Communication Office (GCO) in a statement said that the country “has made substantial progress on labour reforms and it continues to work with NGOs… to ensure that these reforms are far-reaching and effective. We have improved health and safety standards for workers, strengthened the capacity of labour inspectors… increased the penalties for companies that violate the law.” With England having qualified for the 2022 World Cup, Gareth Southgate’s players are also expected to join the Netherlands, Norway and Germany players by expressing solidarity with the migrant workers.
