Goals will be scored, winners
will be crowned, and amends
must be made. @FIFACom
must compensate the workers
and their families who suffered
to make #WorldCup2022
happen. #PayUpFIFA
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WORKERS MUST BE COMPENSATED
LABOUR ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION IN QATAR THE PROMISE OF REF
WIDESPREAD ABUSE TO BE COMPENSATED, BEFORE THE WORLD CUP
CAN BE CELEBRATED
Every fan is desperate to see their nation compete for a place in history. The thrill of a
last-minute winner, the despair of a glaring miss, the suspense of a penalty shoot-out –
these are emotions that unite people from every corner of the world. But can our
eagerness to support our favourite teams be matched with support for migrant workers
making the competition possible
It should have been no secret to anyone that migrant workers in Qatar faced systemic
labour abuses and exploitation and that their toil would be essential for the World Cup to
take place there. At the heart of the abuse was Qatar’s ‘Kafala’ system of sponsorshipbased employment which legally bound foreign workers to their employers, preventing
them from changing jobs or even leaving the country without their employer’s permission.
Despite this, FIFA granted the multi-billion-dollar tournament to Qatar without imposing
on it any conditions to ensure labour protections for migrant workers, despite the
foreseeable risk to their human rights. As a result, over the past 12 years, hundreds of
thousands of migrant workers hired to build or provide services for projects related to the
World Cup have been exploited and otherwise abused.