Both the Netherlands and Germany have launched boycott calls but have not complied, but have yet to endorse the campaign.
None of the 31 qualifying federations has yet endorsed the #PayUpFIFA campaign to compensate Gulf workers, according to the survey.
A survey sent to the world football federations by Britain’s The Independent found that only 14 people had checked the emails and only eight had adequate answers to the inquiries.
Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain will respond to questions on human rights issues related to Qatar’s participation in the World Cup and support or comment on #. PayUpFIFA Campaign.
Seven of them expressed direct concern about human rights issues in Qatar, but Belgium, Croatia and the United States reportedly expressed their concerns separately to the host country, according to The Independent. I’m here.
Australia, Belgium, Denmark and Germany invited human rights organizations such as Amnesty International to speak directly with the players.
Other countries, including England, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland, have ongoing discussions with such bodies but are unwilling to take precedence over others when it comes to speaking to their teams.
Meanwhile, the federations of England, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Switzerland and Australia explained their current positions clearly and in detail. Under the oversight of UEFA and its ongoing working group on Qatar, the general consensus among European qualifiers is that they want to come together as a collective statement with ‘global impact’. about it.
The #PayUpFIFA campaign is a joint call by human rights groups to FIFA to match the $440 million prize money of the tournament with compensation for migrant workers who experienced human rights abuses in preparation for the tournament.
Some federations, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, have expressed support for the campaign sentiment, but have yet to confirm their support.
Simon Chadwick, professor of sports and geopolitical economics at SKEMA Business School in Paris, said: “For national football federations, in the end, usually only one thing matters: when the whistle blows and the match begins. , they want to win,” he told Doha News.
rights concerns
Qatar has come under international scrutiny for its treatment of migrant workers since winning the bid to host the first FIFA World Cup event in the Middle East.
This started several calls for boycotts and Norway launched a campaign in Europe. Among those who joined the boycott call were the Netherlands and Germany, both of which decided not to follow their claims.
Just over a third of eligible countries have had proper discussions with human rights groups regarding the World Cup, and four of those groups allow such groups to speak directly to their players. Only one.
Spain, meanwhile, is one of three federations, along with France and Poland, that did not specifically mention Qatar in their comments.
Despite heavy criticism, the 2010 winners’ association cited the measures related to the relocation of the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia as evidence of its dedication to human rights.
According to Chadwick, the “anti-host” story is nothing new, but there are two differences in Qatar.
“Most World Cup hosts are in the spotlight for three to four years, but Qatar has been in the spotlight for over a decade and has been subjected to an unprecedented level of scrutiny,” said Chadwick. said.
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In March, the head coach of the Dutch national football team accused FIFA of bringing the tournament to Qatar for “monetary” and “commercial” purposes, making it “the only thing that matters to FIFA”.
Luis van Gaal, who is also the football manager of the Dutch Association, said it was “ridiculous” that the 2022 FIFA World Cup is being unraveled in the Gulf countries.
The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has “always” been critical of workers’ rights and working conditions in Qatar, with particular emphasis in 2021.
“We have never been in favor of hosting the World Cup in Qatar, and certainly do not approve of the way migrant workers are treated there,” the football organization said after a visit to the host country. said in a statement last year. .
“While the World Cup has historically been held in Europe and South America, Westerners are increasingly confronted with the inconvenient truth that the world is heading towards the Global South. It seems symbolic of the anxiety felt by the West as this pivot takes place,” Chadwick told Doha News.
Incited by racism?
In May, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani took aim at unfair criticism of the Gulf nations by the West over hosting the 2022 World Cup.
This was made during a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where the emir capitalized on an offensive launched against the Gulf state, the first in the Middle East to host a major sporting event. did.
“For decades the Middle East has suffered from discrimination, and such discrimination is largely based on people not knowing us, and in some cases refusing to know us. I realized that I was there,” said Sheikh Tamim.
Analysts say much of the criticism of Qatar is riddled with racism and Islamophobia, rather than calls for positive change.
“Hosting a large-scale event should ultimately be an equal phenomenon. Every country has the right to host a football World Cup. Rather, it influences stereotypes and tropes associated with Qataris, Arabs and Muslims,” said Chadwick.
In recent years, Qatar has undergone a number of labor reforms. In 2021, we will be the first in the region to introduce a non-discriminatory minimum wage law.
Additionally, Qatar passed two significant laws in August 2020 to remove barriers to migrant workers leaving the country to change jobs without their employer’s permission.
“Whenever a country hosts the World Cup, it is often scrutinized in an unfair and possibly harmful way. either to deal with
