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Qatar may find themselves being stripped of their role as hosts of the World Cup 2022, with an independent report commissioned by FIFA stating that the football governing body should not allow Qatar to host if they continue to mistreat their migrant workers, who have been employed by the country in order to developer the stadiums for the event.
John Ruggie, a Harvard professor who was assigned by FIFA to investigate potential human rights breaches pertaining to the World Cup, was appointed as an independent investigator into how well FIFA has handled its human rights responsibilities, returning a 42-page report in the process.
Qatar hired thousands of migrant workers to develop the stadiums and other such infrastructure required before it opens its doors to football fans for the World Cup 2022, but there have been numerous reports of incredibly poor working conditions as a result of Qatar rushing to finish their construction plans. While a widely shared Washington Post figure citing 1,200 deaths as a result of this construction has since been thrown into question, with the number instead being representing the number of migrant worker deaths in total in the Arab country from 2012 – 2013, there has still been a great deal of concern regarding their potential mistreatment of those the country has employed leading up to the international tournament.
While Professor Ruggie commended FIFA for investigating these concerns, he stated that the organisation must now “go beyond putting words on paper and adding new administrative functions.”
The report said: “Fifa should include human rights within its criteria for evaluating bids to host tournaments and should make them a substantive factor in host selection.”
It continued: “Fifa should set explicit human rights requirements of Local Organising Committees in bidding documents for tournaments and provide guidance on them.”
Ruggie noted how the International Labour Organisation had given Qatar 12 months to end its exploitation of migrant workers before a formal investigation is launched by the United Nations, which could lead to the country being removed as the hosts of World Cup 2022. Though this would be a very unlikely outcome, it is unclear who would be positioned to take Qatar’s place if this were to happen.
