Uefa has urged Fifa to commit to a compensation fund for abused migrant workers preparing for the Qatar 2022 World Cup by the end of the month, i can reveal.
Uefa officials met a delegation from Fifa in Zurich a week or so ago and the creation of a compensation fund was one of the main topics discussed.
There has been dismay from multiple parties at Fifa’s failure to agree to fund a scheme to provide recompense to those who suffered while building the infrastructure in Qatar to host world football’s most prestigious tournament.
Talks with Fifa officials in Switzerland are said to have been positive, but the governing body is yet to commit to a compensation fund that has widespread support across the game. A migrant worker centre to be set up in Qatar to support the workers long after the World Cup has finished was also raised. Fifa is also yet to commit to this.
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The campaign has called for Fifa to commit to a fund of at least £382m – roughly the same figure as the tournament prize money – to compensate workers abused while working on a competition that will generate around £5.2bn in revenues for Fifa.
Fifa’s deputy secretary general, Alasdair Bell, insisted recently that the world governing body was open to discussing the idea. Bell told the Council of Europe five days ago that it was “certainly something that we’re interested in progressing”.
But with the tournament only a month away, Uefa’s delegation, which included members of its working group established to explore the multitude of issues around workers’ rights, has impressed upon Fifa the need for urgency, i understands.
The Uefa working group – named the Working Group on Workers’ Rights in Qatar – was set up last year on behalf of its member associations concerned with human rights and labour abuses in the build-up to the Qatar World Cup.
Mark Bullingham, the Football Association’s chief executive, is part of the group, which also includes representatives from France, Germany, Holland and other Uefa nations.
i revealed last month that the FA was pushing for any injury or death caused to migrant workers preparing for the 2022 World Cup to be compensated. And the governing body later made its position public.
“We continue to push for the principle of compensation for the families of migrant workers who have lost their lives or have been injured in construction projects,” Bullingham said in a statement.
“Again, we are pushing Fifa for an update on the compensation fund, which has been consistently referenced as a safety net where workers and their families have been unable to secure compensation from the construction companies.”
The FA had been criticised for its failure to call out abuses of migrant workers in Qatar publicly.
A group of European nations launched the “One Love” initiative last month, when it was announced that team captains, including England’s Harry Kane, will wear an armband with multiple colours intended to promote inclusion and equality during World Cup games.
The FA said it sends “a message against discrimination of any kind as the eyes of the world fall on the global game”, even though the armband is not composed of the often-used rainbow colours, the symbol of LGBT+ pride.
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