World Cup 2034: Why Fifa’s Saudi coronation is so controversial
Many believe that while Qatar hosted a safe and memorable World Cup that many fans enjoyed, it has been overshadowed by years of human rights, discriminatory laws and the significant disruption to the football schedule caused by the first Winter World Cup. The shadow controversy may now be gone. repeat.
Back in 2010, Qatar surprised the FIFA leadership at the time by unexpectedly winning the 2022 host nation vote. Infantino, by contrast, appears to support the idea of Saudi Arabia hosting the World Cup. With FIFA introducing a human rights policy in 2017, its decisions, and any evidence that workers are adversely affected by the policy, are likely to come under increased scrutiny.
As in Qatar, Saudi World Cup infrastructure will be built largely by migrant workers from South Asia, and with more than 13 million foreigners living in the country, the scale of construction required will inevitably raise concerns.
FIFA’s own report concluded that “from 2010 to 2022, Qatar ultimately did have some serious human rights impacts on some workers associated with the World Cup. These included: deaths, injuries and illness; months without Paying wages. “End; and huge debts… could make a credible argument that FIFA had some impact”.
Media scrutiny during Qatar World Cup build-up may have led to labor reforms, despite Activists have raised concerns about implementationand is angry that FIFA has failed to act on key recommendations in its report and pay financial compensation to injured workers.
Last year, Prince Abdulaziz assured me that there would be no repeat of the workers’ rights issue in Qatar, saying: “We have 10 years to resolve this issue and we have started work on a number of sites, so we have It’s a long time to do this” in the right process. “
However, In its Saudi assessment report, externalFIFA cited “areas where further legal reform and… effective enforcement are needed, otherwise the risk of indecent working conditions may increase”.
FIFA commended the Saudi government for its “commitment to respecting, protecting and fulfilling internationally recognized human rights in competition, including in the areas of safety and security, labor rights, children’s rights, gender equality and non-discrimination and the right to freedoms.” Expression (including freedom of the press)”.
But on diversity and anti-discrimination, its report also “identified gaps and reservations in the implementation of relevant international standards”. Nonetheless, FIFA claims that “the tournament has good potential to be a catalyst for a number of ongoing and future reforms and contribute to positive human rights outcomes”.
Amnesty International said the assessment concluded: “There has been a shocking whitewashing of the country’s atrocious human rights record. Saudi Arabia urgently needs fundamental human rights reforms, otherwise the 2034 World Cup will inevitably be marred by exploitation, discrimination and repression.” Campaign group Fair Square said FIFA had “explored new depths”.
