Qatar 2022: a slap in the face for workers who have been harmed

First, FIFA suppressed an investigation commissioned into human rights violations at the World Cup in Qatar for a long time. Now the report has been published, but the world governing body FIFA is ignoring the abuses and failings that have been highlighted.

A long-awaited report by world football's governing body FIFA on the legacy of the World Cup in Qatar was published at the end of November 2024, but only after FIFA itself rejected its main recommendation. The report, which was prepared by FIFA's Subcommittee on Human Rights and Social Responsibility with the participation of the organization Human Level, is a response to requests from the Norwegian Football Association (NFF). The NFF had called on FIFA to examine compensation measures for migrant workers.

No compensation for victims

The report argues that FIFA should use its Qatar Legacy Fund for migrant workers. However, two days before the report was published, FIFA announced that 50 million dollars would instead be used for international development projects.

According to the report, FIFA and the Emirate of Qatar have set up a “sustainability fund” of 50 million US dollars to finance and support various “social programs”. FIFA President Gianni Infantino described this as a “historic” initiative. Critics, on the other hand, had already called for a significantly higher amount during the 2022 tournament and pointed out the need for a compensation fund for migrant workers who were injured or killed on World Cup construction sites.

FIFA Legacy Funds were set up at the three previous World Cups - in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018. These funds were each endowed with 100 million dollars, twice as much as the fund now announced after the World Cup in Qatar.

What is new about the fund for Qatar - compared to its predecessors - is its international focus. This time, projects of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the World Health Organization WHO and the World Trade Organization WTO are being supported that are not directly or exclusively linked to the host country Qatar.

However, the fund does not include any compensation for migrant workers (or their families) who were exploited and sometimes injured or even killed on the World Cup construction sites.

Working conditions and human rights violations

The exact number of migrant workers who suffered health problems or even died as a result of their work before and during the World Cup in Qatar is still disputed. FIFA and the Qatari government continue to claim that only three people died as a direct result of their work on the stadium construction sites. A further 37 workers died, but without any direct connection to their work. In contrast, human rights organizations report several thousand unexplained deaths in connection with the preparations for the World Cup in Qatar.

This makes it clear that FIFA is shirking its responsibility to compensate migrant workers and their families. Instead, FIFA refers to the “Workers' Support and Insurance Fund”, a fund set up by Qatar in 2018 in the amount of 350 million dollars, which is mainly intended for late or unpaid wages. However, Amnesty International criticizes the fact that access to this fund is “full of obstacles” for those affected, especially if the migrant workers have already returned to their home countries. In addition, payments from the fund are capped, which means that there are upper limits on compensation.

FIFA World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia despite catastrophic human rights situation

Tomorrow, December 11, 2024, the FIFA Congress will vote in an online session on Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Despite widespread criticism from non-governmental organizations, trade unions and lawyers that the Kingdom should be excluded from the bid due to its alarming human rights record, FIFA has described the risk of human rights violations as “medium” in an assessment of the bid.

Steve Cockburn, Head of Labor Rights and Sport at Amnesty International, aptly sums up these developments by saying: “It is incredible that in the same week that FIFA finally released this report, it not only launches a legacy fund with no compensation for workers, but also waves through Saudi Arabia's World Cup bid with no regard for the likely human cost. If FIFA does not finally take action to compensate workers and Saudi Arabia does not introduce real human rights reforms, history will repeat itself and workers will pay the price again."

Human rights at major sporting events - also an issue in 2026

The fact that a broader public has been aware of the issue of human rights at major sporting events since the 2022 FIFA World Cup is certainly a positive development. On the other hand, there has been little criticism globally and criticism from Western countries has often used racist, Eurocentric or Orientalist narratives. This danger also exists with Saudi Arabia, which is why it is particularly important to us as the fairplay initiative that any reporting on mega sporting events - even supposedly “unproblematic” ones - retains a human rights perspective.

For this reason - and thanks to renewed support from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADA) - we are launching the next long-term project on “Sport and Human Rights” at the beginning of 2025, which will focus in particular on human rights aspects at the next FIFA mega sporting event, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026 in the three North American countries Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Stay tuned!