A worker waters the grass in the Qatari capital Doha, on May 5, 2022. – Migrant labourers are … [+]
Borhan, a migrant worker from a rural area in Bangladesh, holds no grudges, not even when he has never been fully paid for his work on World Cup Stadiums, including the $1 billion Lusail Stadium, the opulent gold-clad bowl where Lionel Messi was crowned world champion. He recalled during the recent Asian Cup in Qatar that, as a glass fixer, he had worked shifts of up to 15 hours at Lusail Stadium. Today, he is left selling second-hand electronics to survive on the outskirts of Doha. Suing his old employer is simply unfeasible, in his view. He is afraid of the consequences in a country where he believes migrant workers do not enjoy enough legal protection.
His ordeal speaks to the need for a compensation mechanism for migrant workers who helped realize the World Cup. He was supposed to benefit from the kafala reform that Qatari authorities, FIFA, the International Labor Organisation, and other stakeholders trumpeted as a major milestone. Yet, more than 16 months after the final whistle and on the eve of the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, soccer’s world governing body has not yet published a report by the FIFA Sub-Committee on Human Rights and Social Responsibility. The report addresses the question of legacy and remedies for migrant workers. Before the 2022 World Cup, rights groups had called on FIFA and host nation Qatar to establish a compensation fund of $440 million, the equivalent of the prize money on offer at the tournament.
The Honorable Michael Llamas, president of the Gibraltar Football Association, chairs the sub-committee. Formerly of the U.S. Government, Chris Mihm also serves as a member. Both sit on FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC). In March, Llamas confirmed to me that consultancy Human Level submitted the report to FIFA in December 2023 after it visited Qatar to engage multiple stakeholders, but added that “it was now up to FIFA.” The report has passed the GACC. On Wednesday, following the FIFA Council in Bangkok, FIFA’s press release did not mention the report.
FIFA, through a spokesperson, said: “The report is currently being reviewed and discussed by stakeholders. The findings will be published in due course once the review process has been completed.”
Anna Triponel, the founder of Human Level, said she has been left in the dark over the status of the report which, according to three experts who contributed to it, describes several scenarios and provides for remedies.
FIFA added: “Generally speaking, international experts and trade union representatives who have assessed and collaborated in the labour rights programme for FIFA World Cup workers have repeatedly testified to the robustness of this programme and recognised that major steps forward have occurred in the labour rights sphere.”
That leaves FIFA in a tricky situation: the governing body cannot be seen to tread lightly over a report that it commissioned after Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness – one of very few soccer administrators with vocal opinions – sought to put the World Cup legacy on the agenda of last year’s Congress. “It should be published by now from a transparency and predictability point of view,” said Klaveness.
Last week, Amnesty International demanded that FIFA make public the report. Steve Cockburn, an Amnesty Director, said: “This delay only prolongs the suffering of families who lost loved ones, and workers who were abused, while delivering FIFA’s flagship event. FIFA cannot erase this pain but it can set out a clear plan to deliver justice and commit some of its vast resources towards remedying the harms it has contributed to.”
“The contents of the report may make uncomfortable reading for FIFA but there is overwhelming public support for it to act and no excuse for stalling any longer. A commitment to remedying the abuses related to the last World Cup would be a vital step towards FIFA finally fulfilling its human rights responsibilities and could be life-changing for workers and their families.”
Qatar received major criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, who were often trapped in the Kafala system, which yields ‘unchecked powers to employers’ according to Human Rights Watch. They suffered passport confiscation, wage theft, inhumane working hours, intimidation, and reprisals from employers.
Soccer officials at times displayed a shocking disregard for their struggles and suffering. Infantino said that migrant workers gain pride from hard work, then FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura refused to answer a question on the death of a migrant worker at the Saudi Arabia base camp during the tournament and Qatar World Cup chief Nasser Al Khater stated ‘Death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep’.
The FIFA boss often argued that the Qatar World Cup and its human rights problems were an inheritance of the old regime of Sepp Blatter, but by pivoting to Saudi Arabia with the 2023 Club World Cup in Jeddah and the award of the 2034 World Cup (subject to confirmation by the FIFA Congress) to the Arab kingdom that argument may not hold.
It underlines the need for transparency and publication of a report that could set a precedent as FIFA strengthens its ties with Riyadh.
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