The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is only a year away but serious problems remain. Since 2013, Qatar has been accused of neglecting the rights and safety of migrant workers who are developing the infrastructure of the 2022 World Cup. According to reports, nearly 6,500 of migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, died in the process of building stadiums and supporting infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.
Imagine, 6,500 people died for the sake of a sporting event where the best football national teams from around the world gather and compete, the pinnacle of the world football event.
Not wanting to be seen as agreeing to this practice some players and the national teams began to criticize Qatar. The Norwegian national team started their criticism in the 2022 world cup qualifying match against Gibraltar, they wore t-shirts that read "Human Rights on and off the pitch" before entering the pitch. FIFA chose not to give punishment to the Norwegian national team for this action by saying that FIFA believes in free of speech and that football is a force of good.
The action of the Norwegian national team was followed by the German national team when they competed against Iceland, they lined up and wore t-shirts that read Human Rights.
The wave of criticism against Qatar is getting stronger as the 2022 World Cup draws near, and now it has penetrated into the pitch. The conscience of footballers is troubled by the fact that thousands of people have died just to prepare for a sporting event.
What really happened in Qatar? Why did nearly 6,500 migrant workers die in the process of building stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup?
The root of the migrant worker problems in Qatar is the country's labor law which regulates the kafala system. The system requires a migrant worker to have a sponsor to live and work in the country where often the sponsor is their own employer. With this system the bargaining position of migrant workers is very weak because their visas are held by the employer. With this system, migrant workers have no choice to work elsewhere or return to their country. Workers are also prohibited from forming associations to fight for their interests. It is no different from slavery.
Amnesty International continues to urge Qatar to revise its labor laws before the 2022 World Cup, however, little seems to have changed in Qatar. Because of that, footballers began to criticize from within the pitch. Activism in football is nothing new and this time it was aimed at solidarity with migrant workers in Qatar.
The abundance of oil money enables Qatar to build world-class infrastructure and attracts millions of migrant workers from all over the world to work there. The Qatari mostly work in the service sector, it is migrant workers who do manual jobs like construction workers. But, behind this splendor lies the sad story of migrant workers whose rights are not protected. And the 2022 world cup that has turned the world's eyes to Qatar makes this heartbreaking story even more clear.
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