World Cup
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They've only named 25 in their squad for some reason, I presume that Journo is saying Allahyar will be / has been added? All a bit weird... they're taking 4 keepers as well
Is there a Football World Cup on? Very little interest shown around here yet (England).
https://www.humanite.fr/monde/qatar...141122&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendinblue
A lucrative business, "the biggest in the world" according to the head of a recruitment agency who, for L'Humanité, dissects this system. From the mirage of El Dorado to the gates of hell.
Som Bahadur Rahadi is not a dreamer by nature, but lately he has been seeing life in a different light. He is rediscovering Thulo Lumpek, his village, a string of hamlets that run along the ridge at an altitude of 2,000 metres, facing the Himalayan range and its eternally snow-capped peaks. At the end of October, the post-monsoon season, the sky is still blue, the sun is shining and the air is fresh and pure. Nothing like the flat, sandy Qatar where he spent four years. A nightmare. And a country he has left forever. At least that's what he hopes.
Som Bahadur Rahadi used to grow wheat to feed his family - a son and two daughters. Sometimes he would take his tools and get hired on small jobs. "But with each passing day, I was more and more worried about the children," he recalls. "I wondered how I was going to provide a future for them. At that time, we were helped by our neighbours, often with food, sometimes with money."
The beginning of a terrible debt
As he explains, not without euphemism, to ward off this "difficult life", he had to find a solution. It came almost naturally: to go to Qatar. Over there, the construction sites for the football World Cup and the construction of related infrastructures (roads, hotels, etc.) employ millions of migrants, including over 350,000 Nepalese. This is a workforce that the Gulf petro-monarchies love. Only 5% are skilled workers, while 74% are unskilled and 21% are semi-skilled.
In agreement with his wife, Som Bahadur makes his decision. The obstacle course begins. It is the beginning of a terrible debt. To get a job in Qatar (but this is true for all the Gulf countries), you first have to go to an agency specialising in recruitment. There are an estimated 854 such agencies in Nepal. A lucrative business - "the biggest in the world", claims one of these agency bosses who insists on remaining anonymous but who, for L'Humanité, dissects the system.
To make themselves known, these agencies develop their marketing in the countries of employment, such as Qatar. When one of them obtains a contract, it publishes the job offers in the media. But some subcontract the hiring to less careful agencies, which send recruiters to the villages. In rural and mountainous areas far from the modern world, scams are easy. City recruiters" offer the promise of an El Dorado. These poor people make unfair agreements with these agencies, which usually demand exorbitant sums. Nepal's legal limit of 10,000 rupees (76 euros) on recruitment fees is smashed.
The worker has to pay for everything out of his own pocket
The looting orchestrated by the agencies can then begin. Everything is billed, from insurance to visas, from the training course that is supposed to teach workers the habits and customs of the destination country to the provident fund! The sum of 20,000 rupees (152 euros) - a minimum - is quickly reached. In a country where one in five people live on less than 2 euros a day, this amount is already astronomical.
But that's not all. "When the visa has been obtained and 300 riyals (80 euros) paid, they are sent to the Qatar Visa Center (QVC) for medical examinations (blood tests, respiratory control, urine) and biometric tests," explains the head of the agency, still on condition of anonymity. "Normally, this QVC is free. But some companies based in Doha charge the Nepalese labour provider for it. The payment is made in Nepal and then transferred to Qatar." According to him, only 10% of the companies based in the emirate cover all the costs of recruitment. In 90% of cases, the worker has to pay everything out of his own pocket. These figures are difficult to verify, but they are corroborated by the testimonies we were able to gather.
Meter interest
"To pay, Nepalis take out loans with exorbitant interest rates, from 48% to 60%," says Rameshwar Nepal, executive director of Equidem Research Nepal, a human and labour rights organisation. Krishna Neupane, general secretary of the Kathmandu-based National Network for Migrant Support (NNMS), also deplores the attitude of banks that refuse to lend money. "So the would-be migrants go to the rich people in their village, mortgage their land and have to pay back in two or three years."
He also denounces what is known in Nepal as 'meter interest'. "If you are given a loan at 36% interest and after one year you have not managed to pay it back, then the next year the basic amount due is increased by 36% and the interest will be calculated from that amount. A bottomless pit, so to speak. A procedure that can last a lifetime."
Driven to ultimate desperation
Raj (not his real name), who works in Qatar, denounces "the corruption of the government that allows this mafia of recruitment agencies to develop". They are talking about a billion rupees a month (7.6 million euros). Raj himself was defrauded once in 2005. After paying 300,000 rupees (now 2,200 euros), he first went to Delhi, India, to work in Afghanistan, he was promised. He returned to Nepal empty-handed, as there were no jobs waiting for him in Kabul.
According to him, "15% of the workers who arrive in Qatar actually have no job and have to go back. Those who are smart or educated manage to get their money back from the agency. But the vast majority do nothing and find themselves in a very difficult situation."
This can push some migrants to the point of ultimate despair. "A friend of mine committed suicide in Qatar last month," says Keshav, who has worked as a supervisor for a major oil company in the emirate since 2006. "He was very indebted and didn't know how to cope. Some ended their lives because of delayed or unpaid salaries, which added to their debt, others because of a mix-up and fear of going to jail."
Time-off? Only every two years
Som Bahadur Rahadi had to pay 80,000 rupees (600 euros), a sum that does not include the costs of travel and accommodation in Kathmandu, an eight-hour bus ride from his village. One "beautiful" day, he finally boarded a plane to Doha. He found himself unloading goods in the supermarkets of Qatar. He woke up at 3 a.m. and had to travel for an hour to get to work at 4 a.m. He won't be back in his four-person room until 7pm. Fourteen hours paid at twelve, "because the boss does not take into account the time spent between two delivery points". Not a single day off per week. Holidays? Only every two years.
Under pressure from international trade unions and human rights organisations, Qatar initiated a reform of the labour system in 2017. In this country where trade unions are banned, the establishment of "joint committees", which are supposed to represent the voice of employees, is now boasted. A structure that the Nepalese organisation General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) describes as "useless and incapable of really addressing the problems".
Its (clandestine) trade union representative in Qatar, whom we were able to meet in Kathmandu (let's call him Saurav), recognises that "there is no longer any kafala (a system that subjected the worker to his boss withholding his passport - editor's note), no longer any obligation to provide a so-called no-objection certificate (NOC) when one wants to change employer. This does not mean that all the problems have been solved. There are so many conditions to fulfil that it is much more difficult than they say.""
As for the joint committees, not only are they far from being set up by the bosses, but no enforcement measures are planned. "On 14 August, nearly 4,000 demonstrators took to the streets to demand the payment of back wages," recalls Saurav. Many of them were arrested and then deported.
Required to disappear from the landscape
Another "change" is the introduction of a minimum wage of 1,800 riyals (477 euros). But, in the absence of real controls - which even the International Labour Organisation is unable to carry out - "companies cheat and do not pay what they owe", denounces Smritee Lama, head of the Gefont union.
The mechanism is as follows: "The cash withdrawal cards of each worker are actually in the hands of the employer, who deducts 800 riyals" (212 euros). These arbitrary deductions are said to cover the costs of food (300 riyals, 80 euros) and accommodation (500 riyals, 133 euros). Since employers don't talk about it, "most workers don't even realise it! And those who do know, keep quiet for fear of being fired for one reason or another. Being made redundant means going back to the country where there is a loan to pay back. So they say to themselves that 1,000 riyals (265 euros) is better than nothing at all."
Rameshwar Nepal notes that "there have been announcements to the rest of the world, but I don't see any significant changes in the lives of migrant workers. They remain under the control of recruiters and there are still many deaths. Despite the promises of the Qatari authorities, the attacks on these migrants continue."
This is also evidenced by the expulsion of hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign workers in recent weeks, who have been asked to disappear from the landscape to make way for the arrival of the World Cup fans, which starts on 20 November. Hide these migrants that I cannot see, so to speak.
A lucrative business, "the biggest in the world" according to the head of a recruitment agency who, for L'Humanité, dissects this system. From the mirage of El Dorado to the gates of hell.
Som Bahadur Rahadi is not a dreamer by nature, but lately he has been seeing life in a different light. He is rediscovering Thulo Lumpek, his village, a string of hamlets that run along the ridge at an altitude of 2,000 metres, facing the Himalayan range and its eternally snow-capped peaks. At the end of October, the post-monsoon season, the sky is still blue, the sun is shining and the air is fresh and pure. Nothing like the flat, sandy Qatar where he spent four years. A nightmare. And a country he has left forever. At least that's what he hopes.
Som Bahadur Rahadi used to grow wheat to feed his family - a son and two daughters. Sometimes he would take his tools and get hired on small jobs. "But with each passing day, I was more and more worried about the children," he recalls. "I wondered how I was going to provide a future for them. At that time, we were helped by our neighbours, often with food, sometimes with money."
The beginning of a terrible debt
As he explains, not without euphemism, to ward off this "difficult life", he had to find a solution. It came almost naturally: to go to Qatar. Over there, the construction sites for the football World Cup and the construction of related infrastructures (roads, hotels, etc.) employ millions of migrants, including over 350,000 Nepalese. This is a workforce that the Gulf petro-monarchies love. Only 5% are skilled workers, while 74% are unskilled and 21% are semi-skilled.
In agreement with his wife, Som Bahadur makes his decision. The obstacle course begins. It is the beginning of a terrible debt. To get a job in Qatar (but this is true for all the Gulf countries), you first have to go to an agency specialising in recruitment. There are an estimated 854 such agencies in Nepal. A lucrative business - "the biggest in the world", claims one of these agency bosses who insists on remaining anonymous but who, for L'Humanité, dissects the system.
To make themselves known, these agencies develop their marketing in the countries of employment, such as Qatar. When one of them obtains a contract, it publishes the job offers in the media. But some subcontract the hiring to less careful agencies, which send recruiters to the villages. In rural and mountainous areas far from the modern world, scams are easy. City recruiters" offer the promise of an El Dorado. These poor people make unfair agreements with these agencies, which usually demand exorbitant sums. Nepal's legal limit of 10,000 rupees (76 euros) on recruitment fees is smashed.
The worker has to pay for everything out of his own pocket
The looting orchestrated by the agencies can then begin. Everything is billed, from insurance to visas, from the training course that is supposed to teach workers the habits and customs of the destination country to the provident fund! The sum of 20,000 rupees (152 euros) - a minimum - is quickly reached. In a country where one in five people live on less than 2 euros a day, this amount is already astronomical.
But that's not all. "When the visa has been obtained and 300 riyals (80 euros) paid, they are sent to the Qatar Visa Center (QVC) for medical examinations (blood tests, respiratory control, urine) and biometric tests," explains the head of the agency, still on condition of anonymity. "Normally, this QVC is free. But some companies based in Doha charge the Nepalese labour provider for it. The payment is made in Nepal and then transferred to Qatar." According to him, only 10% of the companies based in the emirate cover all the costs of recruitment. In 90% of cases, the worker has to pay everything out of his own pocket. These figures are difficult to verify, but they are corroborated by the testimonies we were able to gather.
Meter interest
"To pay, Nepalis take out loans with exorbitant interest rates, from 48% to 60%," says Rameshwar Nepal, executive director of Equidem Research Nepal, a human and labour rights organisation. Krishna Neupane, general secretary of the Kathmandu-based National Network for Migrant Support (NNMS), also deplores the attitude of banks that refuse to lend money. "So the would-be migrants go to the rich people in their village, mortgage their land and have to pay back in two or three years."
He also denounces what is known in Nepal as 'meter interest'. "If you are given a loan at 36% interest and after one year you have not managed to pay it back, then the next year the basic amount due is increased by 36% and the interest will be calculated from that amount. A bottomless pit, so to speak. A procedure that can last a lifetime."
Driven to ultimate desperation
Raj (not his real name), who works in Qatar, denounces "the corruption of the government that allows this mafia of recruitment agencies to develop". They are talking about a billion rupees a month (7.6 million euros). Raj himself was defrauded once in 2005. After paying 300,000 rupees (now 2,200 euros), he first went to Delhi, India, to work in Afghanistan, he was promised. He returned to Nepal empty-handed, as there were no jobs waiting for him in Kabul.
According to him, "15% of the workers who arrive in Qatar actually have no job and have to go back. Those who are smart or educated manage to get their money back from the agency. But the vast majority do nothing and find themselves in a very difficult situation."
This can push some migrants to the point of ultimate despair. "A friend of mine committed suicide in Qatar last month," says Keshav, who has worked as a supervisor for a major oil company in the emirate since 2006. "He was very indebted and didn't know how to cope. Some ended their lives because of delayed or unpaid salaries, which added to their debt, others because of a mix-up and fear of going to jail."
Time-off? Only every two years
Som Bahadur Rahadi had to pay 80,000 rupees (600 euros), a sum that does not include the costs of travel and accommodation in Kathmandu, an eight-hour bus ride from his village. One "beautiful" day, he finally boarded a plane to Doha. He found himself unloading goods in the supermarkets of Qatar. He woke up at 3 a.m. and had to travel for an hour to get to work at 4 a.m. He won't be back in his four-person room until 7pm. Fourteen hours paid at twelve, "because the boss does not take into account the time spent between two delivery points". Not a single day off per week. Holidays? Only every two years.
Under pressure from international trade unions and human rights organisations, Qatar initiated a reform of the labour system in 2017. In this country where trade unions are banned, the establishment of "joint committees", which are supposed to represent the voice of employees, is now boasted. A structure that the Nepalese organisation General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) describes as "useless and incapable of really addressing the problems".
Its (clandestine) trade union representative in Qatar, whom we were able to meet in Kathmandu (let's call him Saurav), recognises that "there is no longer any kafala (a system that subjected the worker to his boss withholding his passport - editor's note), no longer any obligation to provide a so-called no-objection certificate (NOC) when one wants to change employer. This does not mean that all the problems have been solved. There are so many conditions to fulfil that it is much more difficult than they say.""
As for the joint committees, not only are they far from being set up by the bosses, but no enforcement measures are planned. "On 14 August, nearly 4,000 demonstrators took to the streets to demand the payment of back wages," recalls Saurav. Many of them were arrested and then deported.
Required to disappear from the landscape
Another "change" is the introduction of a minimum wage of 1,800 riyals (477 euros). But, in the absence of real controls - which even the International Labour Organisation is unable to carry out - "companies cheat and do not pay what they owe", denounces Smritee Lama, head of the Gefont union.
The mechanism is as follows: "The cash withdrawal cards of each worker are actually in the hands of the employer, who deducts 800 riyals" (212 euros). These arbitrary deductions are said to cover the costs of food (300 riyals, 80 euros) and accommodation (500 riyals, 133 euros). Since employers don't talk about it, "most workers don't even realise it! And those who do know, keep quiet for fear of being fired for one reason or another. Being made redundant means going back to the country where there is a loan to pay back. So they say to themselves that 1,000 riyals (265 euros) is better than nothing at all."
Rameshwar Nepal notes that "there have been announcements to the rest of the world, but I don't see any significant changes in the lives of migrant workers. They remain under the control of recruiters and there are still many deaths. Despite the promises of the Qatari authorities, the attacks on these migrants continue."
This is also evidenced by the expulsion of hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign workers in recent weeks, who have been asked to disappear from the landscape to make way for the arrival of the World Cup fans, which starts on 20 November. Hide these migrants that I cannot see, so to speak.
Pramina Saru, employee of a cleaning company
Pramina Saru, 35, arrived in Qatar in 2017, after paying 120,000 rupees (913 euros today). Her contract was clear: she was to be employed by a cleaning company working in schools. Eight hours a day, for 800 riyals a month (212 euros). That's not exactly what happened. "At the end of my shift, I had to work from 4pm to 10pm for 400 riyals a month (€106) in a private home, often a different one. If I refused, the company would deduct those hours from my salary." Every morning, she left the accommodation camp at 5.30 a.m. and only returned at 11 p.m.: 14 hours of daily work. The young woman talks about the harassment she suffered, the insults she received for nothing. "The worst thing about working in a house is the threats to take us to the police if something goes wrong." She recounts how a young Nepalese woman from a remote area of the country, with very little education, was beaten for putting her employer's shoes in the refrigerator.
The Nepalese government prohibits women from going abroad to work as domestic servants, officially to protect them. "But in reality, thousands leave without any work documents and fall prey to traffickers and sexual violence," says Manju Gurung, co-founder of the NGO Pourakhi, which looks after women migrants returning home. P. B.
"He fell asleep and never woke up"
Hira Devi, widow of Dilbahur Pulami
Hira Devi was pregnant when, in 2014, she learned of the death of her husband, Dilbahur Pulami, 31. "After returning from work, he fell asleep and never woke up." The body arrived in Kathmandu. Hira Devi does not confide in him herself, but due to lack of funds, he was cremated in the capital and not in the village, an eight-hour drive away. Thirty years old and already a widow, she is raising her four children thanks to the pension of her father-in-law, a former member of the Indian army: 100,000 rupees a year (760 euros). "The company he worked for only paid me his last salary. And no compensation because, we were told, he died outside his working hours," she explains. To pay for her children's education, she takes out a new loan every year...
Between 2008 and 2019, at least 1,095 Nepali migrant workers died in Qatar, accounting for almost a third of all migrant deaths in the Gulf countries, according to the Nepalese Foreign Employment Office. Officially, the families of the deceased receive compensation of 700,000 rupees (5,300 euros) from the Foreign Employment Protection Fund. But, as in the case of Hira Devi, many do not receive compensation. Due to lack of information or because they are far from the administrative centres, the families do not apply. P. B.
n Nepal, he grew tomatoes and broccoli and was sometimes hired as an electrician. It was impossible to get by. In 2004, Gobinda Thapa tried to leave. "I was first sent to Bombay and told I would work in Kuwait, but in fact I ended up in Qatar. I had no choice, otherwise I would be sent back to Kathmandu. I was promised a salary of 800 riyals (212 euros); in reality, it was 600 riyals (160 euros) and even then, we were not paid every month. To feed ourselves, we had to borrow." In 2006, he returned to Nepal, but his situation was unchanged, so he went back to Qatar in 2011. "I had a good salary at the beginning, but then they hired more workers and reduced our hours and wages. We were entitled to two months' holiday every two years. But, at the time, there was still kafala (subordination of the employee to his employer who confiscated his passport - editor's note). We were only allowed to go on holiday for one month. In 2015, while we were on a building site, a friend of mine who was screwing in windows fell from the scaffolding. He was taken to hospital but died. There was no report and the company did not pay the insurance to the family. Each of us gave a day's pay and sent it to the family." He also tells the story of another worker who also fell. That was in 2020. He is now in a wheelchair, paraplegic but still in Qatar, because he has not yet received the insurance compensation. P. B.
Pramina Saru, 35, arrived in Qatar in 2017, after paying 120,000 rupees (913 euros today). Her contract was clear: she was to be employed by a cleaning company working in schools. Eight hours a day, for 800 riyals a month (212 euros). That's not exactly what happened. "At the end of my shift, I had to work from 4pm to 10pm for 400 riyals a month (€106) in a private home, often a different one. If I refused, the company would deduct those hours from my salary." Every morning, she left the accommodation camp at 5.30 a.m. and only returned at 11 p.m.: 14 hours of daily work. The young woman talks about the harassment she suffered, the insults she received for nothing. "The worst thing about working in a house is the threats to take us to the police if something goes wrong." She recounts how a young Nepalese woman from a remote area of the country, with very little education, was beaten for putting her employer's shoes in the refrigerator.
The Nepalese government prohibits women from going abroad to work as domestic servants, officially to protect them. "But in reality, thousands leave without any work documents and fall prey to traffickers and sexual violence," says Manju Gurung, co-founder of the NGO Pourakhi, which looks after women migrants returning home. P. B.
"He fell asleep and never woke up"
Hira Devi, widow of Dilbahur Pulami
Hira Devi was pregnant when, in 2014, she learned of the death of her husband, Dilbahur Pulami, 31. "After returning from work, he fell asleep and never woke up." The body arrived in Kathmandu. Hira Devi does not confide in him herself, but due to lack of funds, he was cremated in the capital and not in the village, an eight-hour drive away. Thirty years old and already a widow, she is raising her four children thanks to the pension of her father-in-law, a former member of the Indian army: 100,000 rupees a year (760 euros). "The company he worked for only paid me his last salary. And no compensation because, we were told, he died outside his working hours," she explains. To pay for her children's education, she takes out a new loan every year...
Between 2008 and 2019, at least 1,095 Nepali migrant workers died in Qatar, accounting for almost a third of all migrant deaths in the Gulf countries, according to the Nepalese Foreign Employment Office. Officially, the families of the deceased receive compensation of 700,000 rupees (5,300 euros) from the Foreign Employment Protection Fund. But, as in the case of Hira Devi, many do not receive compensation. Due to lack of information or because they are far from the administrative centres, the families do not apply. P. B.
n Nepal, he grew tomatoes and broccoli and was sometimes hired as an electrician. It was impossible to get by. In 2004, Gobinda Thapa tried to leave. "I was first sent to Bombay and told I would work in Kuwait, but in fact I ended up in Qatar. I had no choice, otherwise I would be sent back to Kathmandu. I was promised a salary of 800 riyals (212 euros); in reality, it was 600 riyals (160 euros) and even then, we were not paid every month. To feed ourselves, we had to borrow." In 2006, he returned to Nepal, but his situation was unchanged, so he went back to Qatar in 2011. "I had a good salary at the beginning, but then they hired more workers and reduced our hours and wages. We were entitled to two months' holiday every two years. But, at the time, there was still kafala (subordination of the employee to his employer who confiscated his passport - editor's note). We were only allowed to go on holiday for one month. In 2015, while we were on a building site, a friend of mine who was screwing in windows fell from the scaffolding. He was taken to hospital but died. There was no report and the company did not pay the insurance to the family. Each of us gave a day's pay and sent it to the family." He also tells the story of another worker who also fell. That was in 2020. He is now in a wheelchair, paraplegic but still in Qatar, because he has not yet received the insurance compensation. P. B.
Interesting article
Holding the World Cup in Qatar has damaged football and I will not be going
Philipp Lahm
As tournament director of Euro 2024, I am meeting many people from the huge German football base. They are children in jerseys with whom I take selfies, youth coaches who teach rules to their players, presidents of small clubs who have been volunteers for decades. They all love the lightness of football, know its educational power, appreciate its importance to our community.
When the conversation turns to Qatar, however, their tone becomes serious. Many consider missing a World Cupvoluntarily for the first time in their lives. In the past, a World Cup was a folk festival, for children a football initiation for life. Today, some amateur clubs think about leaving the beer tables and the screen in the storeroom.
What this makes clear to me again is that giving the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake. It doesn’t belong there.
Even the Fifa procedure was problematic. It was unusual that two tournaments were awarded simultaneously for the first time. Qatar and Russia won the bids, although there was stronger competition. The match schedule in Qatar had to be postponed from summer to winter. The heat in the desert had not been considered at first, although an internal Fifa report had warned against it and also pointed out other deficits of the Qatari bid.
Other reasons must have been decisive in December 2010. Many of Fifa’s 24 elected officials were later banned, punished or legally prosecuted; two had been suspended before the election.
Another lesson from Qatar: in future, human rights must become an indispensable criterion at major sporting events. Qatar has made progress in response to criticism from fans and research by the media by ratifying some agreements under international law and introducing the minimum wage. But gay people are still criminalised, women do not have the same rights as men and freedom of the press and freedom of expression are restricted.
The conditions for the migrant workers, thanks to whom the World Cup is possible, have been devastating. Their deaths were accepted and not investigated, their families are not adequately compensated. This is what the human rights experts from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation say. Qatar has admitted abuses.
According to Forbes, the World Cup will cost at least $150bn (£128bn), which is about 10 times more than the World Cup in Russia, the previous most expensive. In a country the size of Kosovo and with fewer inhabitants than Berlin, there are eight ultra-modern, air-conditioned stadiums.
This is a World Cup like no other. For the last 12 years the Guardian has been reporting on the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is gathered on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond the Football home page for those who want to go deeper into the issues beyond the pitch.
Holding the World Cup in Qatar has damaged football and I will not be going
Philipp Lahm
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As tournament director of Euro 2024, I am meeting many people from the huge German football base. They are children in jerseys with whom I take selfies, youth coaches who teach rules to their players, presidents of small clubs who have been volunteers for decades. They all love the lightness of football, know its educational power, appreciate its importance to our community.
When the conversation turns to Qatar, however, their tone becomes serious. Many consider missing a World Cupvoluntarily for the first time in their lives. In the past, a World Cup was a folk festival, for children a football initiation for life. Today, some amateur clubs think about leaving the beer tables and the screen in the storeroom.
What this makes clear to me again is that giving the World Cup to Qatar was a mistake. It doesn’t belong there.
Even the Fifa procedure was problematic. It was unusual that two tournaments were awarded simultaneously for the first time. Qatar and Russia won the bids, although there was stronger competition. The match schedule in Qatar had to be postponed from summer to winter. The heat in the desert had not been considered at first, although an internal Fifa report had warned against it and also pointed out other deficits of the Qatari bid.
Other reasons must have been decisive in December 2010. Many of Fifa’s 24 elected officials were later banned, punished or legally prosecuted; two had been suspended before the election.
Another lesson from Qatar: in future, human rights must become an indispensable criterion at major sporting events. Qatar has made progress in response to criticism from fans and research by the media by ratifying some agreements under international law and introducing the minimum wage. But gay people are still criminalised, women do not have the same rights as men and freedom of the press and freedom of expression are restricted.
The conditions for the migrant workers, thanks to whom the World Cup is possible, have been devastating. Their deaths were accepted and not investigated, their families are not adequately compensated. This is what the human rights experts from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation say. Qatar has admitted abuses.
According to Forbes, the World Cup will cost at least $150bn (£128bn), which is about 10 times more than the World Cup in Russia, the previous most expensive. In a country the size of Kosovo and with fewer inhabitants than Berlin, there are eight ultra-modern, air-conditioned stadiums.
This is a World Cup like no other. For the last 12 years the Guardian has been reporting on the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is gathered on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond the Football home page for those who want to go deeper into the issues beyond the pitch.
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I can see this whole tournament being a flop for numerous reasons.
A lot has already been said about the human-rights issues,there are many and that in turn will see many turn their backs on it.
It's at the oddest time of the year when lots of people are beginning to prepare for x.mas and precious spare time is being spent gathering up presents for their families,some families are genuinely struggling to make ends meet and the thought of overpaid prima donnas' tanning themselves around Pools in lavish complexes will have many questioning the finances of it all. Backs will be turned for this reason also.
It comes at a time when we are normally watching our individual domestic teams battling it out in the wind,rain,sleet and possibly snow,it's part of our yearly routine,moan that we may on occasion,it's part of our football supporting lives.
The games are playing on working days,in working hours and as numerous people around the Country(myself included) now work 5 over 7's,backshifts et al,even the weekend games won't be seen live.
In short,there's been little or no thought put into this,it bucks the trend of 'normal' World Cup procedures and locations that we've all become accustomed too and viewing figures will reflect this.Add to the fact the frustration of knowing that we have some of the most talented and gifted individuals we have ever seen donning our National colours but a Manager who looks bereft of ideas on how to move it to the level it should be performing at...
All in all it's the most uninspiring global footballing event to take place in many a year,the Footballing public have been turned off for all of the above reasons and a once much anticipated 4 yearly event that we normally can't wait to down tools and follow,has been turned into a ****ing circus by the powers that be!!!
International Football will feel the repercussions of this fiasco for years to come...Hell mend the organisers and those that tamely went along with it!!
A lot has already been said about the human-rights issues,there are many and that in turn will see many turn their backs on it.
It's at the oddest time of the year when lots of people are beginning to prepare for x.mas and precious spare time is being spent gathering up presents for their families,some families are genuinely struggling to make ends meet and the thought of overpaid prima donnas' tanning themselves around Pools in lavish complexes will have many questioning the finances of it all. Backs will be turned for this reason also.
It comes at a time when we are normally watching our individual domestic teams battling it out in the wind,rain,sleet and possibly snow,it's part of our yearly routine,moan that we may on occasion,it's part of our football supporting lives.
The games are playing on working days,in working hours and as numerous people around the Country(myself included) now work 5 over 7's,backshifts et al,even the weekend games won't be seen live.
In short,there's been little or no thought put into this,it bucks the trend of 'normal' World Cup procedures and locations that we've all become accustomed too and viewing figures will reflect this.Add to the fact the frustration of knowing that we have some of the most talented and gifted individuals we have ever seen donning our National colours but a Manager who looks bereft of ideas on how to move it to the level it should be performing at...
All in all it's the most uninspiring global footballing event to take place in many a year,the Footballing public have been turned off for all of the above reasons and a once much anticipated 4 yearly event that we normally can't wait to down tools and follow,has been turned into a ****ing circus by the powers that be!!!
International Football will feel the repercussions of this fiasco for years to come...Hell mend the organisers and those that tamely went along with it!!
The whole way the tournament was handed to Quatar in the first place put me off it, especially when the same people taking back handers for votes refuse to stage it in this country time and time again plus the time of the year it is taking place. But I am willing to bet this mid-season break in our domestic season will now become the norm. Football will now have it's reputation and popularity severely put to the test with every accusation from workers' rights, gay rights, human rights, climate change, and a host of other grievances blamed upon it. When it should be just 100% football without all these sideshows attaching themselves to the greatest football competition in the world. One consolation though Ric, Rod Stewart has said he will not be singing at it.
Bought and payed for ‘allegedly’…lol.
Everything was wrong about giving this World Cup to Qatar.
Yet they got it…
Allam’s GONE.
I remember in 2010 when it was announced
That morning i was so sure 2018 would have been england and or uk world cup
And 2022 was australia
Oh how i was gutted
That morning i was so sure 2018 would have been england and or uk world cup
And 2022 was australia
Oh how i was gutted
Read the original idea was to have it in Russia, then the USA followed by Australia. Then Platini stuck his oar in following a request from the French President who wanted to swing a trade deal with Qatar.Blatter shouldn’t have taken notice and told him to piss off.
Suppose i was niave
Just thought 5 decades or so since last hosted
England must get a turn
Have multiples of ready stadiums already
The distances between stadiums is small
Perfect for fans of any team
No 1000+ mile trips between group games
Festivals
Camping
Would have been awesome
It would. But politics has played the major part in these decisions for too long now,
I’m in the middle of watching FIFA Uncovered on Netflix. Two words….****ing Hell