In March 2019, Arsene Wenger toured some of Qatar’s stadia before opining on just how impressed he was by the infrastructure that a reported spend of £120bn gets you. In amongst the usual patter – legacy, community, futuristic, state-of-the-art – Wenger made a bold prediction: “It will be a much more comfortable experience than before.”
“For who?” shouts the crowd. Presumably Wenger went to Qatar of his own accord, a little like a retiree might potter around a newly opened garden centre – “They even sell cereal bars, Barbara – at a garden centre!”. Six months later, Wenger was appointed as Fifa’s new head of global football development. Well perhaps he did a little networking too.
This has been the repeated issue with the Qatar World Cup. Every time you hear anybody wax lyrical without caveat, the best advice is to follow the money. David Beckham is the latest football behemoth to claim in an interview that the tournament is “perfectly set-up”. Beckham reportedly signed a £150m deal last October to be an ambassador for the Qatar tournament. His praise therefore looks like a wilful blindness and moral selectivism based on financial loyalty.
With the World Cup draw taking place on Friday afternoon – and there’s nothing quite like televised administration – it gives us a chance to take a step back. Qatar’s stadiums will be stupendous, of course. Players and delegates may well be able to travel easily to stadiums in close proximity in a country slightly smaller than Yorkshire and with all its stadiums positioned on or near the west coast. Wenger is right, there.
But what of supporters? Currently, booking.com and hotels.com have no availability for the month of the tournament in Doha. The cheapest on Airbnb is a twin room in a shared apartment that will set you back £17,017. There is also a penthouse with marina view, with a catch – it costs £243,991. Maybe we could all stay there?
While Nasser Al Khater discusses the cultural impact of the World Cup, the legacy it will leave in Qatar and the unrivalled hospitality that the stars of the tournament will enjoy, Friday brings more meaningful news than who plays who, when and where. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) has tracked human rights abuses in Qatar since 2016. Their report was released early Friday morning and details cases of abuse of workers in the country, including those who have worked on the construction of World Cup stadiums.
Despite working against tight media control that made investigation difficult, the BHRRC recorded abuse affecting 24,400 workers in the country over a six-year period, including links to seven of the eight World Cup stadiums. That includes withheld or unpaid wages (the most common complaint), mistreatment and serious health and safety violations.
More from Football
24,000 workers have suffered abuse while building stadiums in Qatar, says human rights group01 April, 2022
England can win the World Cup but we will have to be close to perfect, says Gareth Southgate31 March, 2022
When is Scotland vs Ukraine? What we know about rescheduled World Cup play-off and how it affects the draw31 March, 2022In the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, workers went on strike in 2019 because they had not been paid for four months. At the Al Janoub stadium in Al-Wakrah, two workers allegedly died during construction. At the Lusail Stadium, where the final will be held on 16 December, workers went without pay for three months and had end-of-service benefits withheld.
It is permissible to be excited about the World Cup. This is the pinnacle. Football supporters compartmentalise their lives through snapshots of where they were, what they were doing and who they were with by that four-yearly cycle. Asking them to not consume this World Cup is unreasonable because excitement and interest is not a choice.
Nor are human rights organisations expecting them to. They want fans and journalists to travel to Qatar to appreciate the context of the tournament from their point of view. Shine a light on the issues, tell the stories of those who have suffered. Repeat their points when those in charge try to shout them down. And yes, enjoy the football.
But then that encapsulates the great shame of this World Cup. Because this tournament is the pinnacle, it deserves to be pure (or as pure as is reasonably possible). If our joy, our excitement, our despair and our hope is qualified, sullied or caveated because of the wider circumstances of geopolitical and human rights issues, it is a considerable cultural tragedy as well as a literal one.
And it is the propaganda and rhetoric that stings the most. On Thursday morning, at Fifa’s 72nd Congress in Doha, Norway’s first female FA president Lise Klaveness took to the stage and demanded that Fifa stay true to its supposed values by taking responsibility for the human rights issues and those who suffered in ensuring that the greatest football show on earth will take place, largely in the city from which she was speaking.
Shortly after her speech, Hasan Al Thawadi, CEO of the Qatar World Cup, told Klaveness that she should have educated herself before making those points. And so the greatest show does goes on, shouting its marketing slogans and bland epithets of legacy and luxury above any conflicting noise. Given all the glitz and glamour of Friday’s draw, it provides the perfect opportunity to think of those who worked in opposite circumstances, suffering exploitation, danger and ill-health to fuel Fifa’s roadshow. It is not enough, but it is the least they deserve.
Human rights abuses at Qatar 2022
Lusail Stadium
Workers accused their employer Meinhardt Bim Studio of failing to pay them for three months and withholding end of service benefits.
In December 2021, the Nepali Times reported that a worker who had helped on the construction of the stadium had paid $1,000 in illegal recruitment fees to secure the job.
Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
In November 2018, construction workers alleged they did not receive enough money to adequately support their families in their home countries.
Al Janoub Stadium
In 2014 workers were being underpaid and their passports were being held by their employer.
At least two workers have allegedly died in the building of this stadium, including Tej Narayan Tharu, a Nepali national who fell from a walkway.
Khalifa International Stadium
In 2017, British construction worker Zac Cox died on the job due to safety failures.
A 2016 Amnesty report reported multiple cases of serious abuse, including non-payment of wages, withholding of passports, contract substitution and the charging of recruitment fees.
Education City Stadium
In 2018, workers were seen on the hottest day of the year apparently working during a designated rest period in contravention of the summer working hours directive designed to safeguard workers’ health. In 2019, workers at the stadium went on strike saying they had not been paid for four months.
Al Bayt Stadium
In June 2019, Fifa confirmed that 23 workers of a stadium subcontractor had not been paid their wages.
In June 2020, an Amnesty investigation revealed around 100 workers on the stadium had not been paid for up to seven months.
Al Thumama Stadium
In November 2021, a Nepali migrant worker reported working 12-hour shifts in extremely hot conditions and sometimes working up to 20 hours with only a few breaks with insufficient drinking water and food. He also said he was not paid overtime and slept in a cramped room with six other people.
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/zcw5Yki
Post a Comment