FIFA urged to 'rerun the vote' on Qatar's 2022 Football World Cup

[Dback Jon]

“The clock is ticking” for Qatar’s 2022 football world cup, warned a FIFA representative who was attending a European Parliament hearing on Thursday (13 February) that looked into reports of forced labour and deaths on stadium construction sites. Trade unions are now calling on the world football governing body to "rerun the vote".

“FIFA will not turn a blind eye. Deaths that have occurred need to be addressed,” said Dr Theo Zwanziger, a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.

“The situation is unacceptable. There needs to be an improvement in the working conditions” of foreign workers employed on World Cup construction sites, Zwanziger said, speaking through an interpreter.

The German high-ranking FIFA official was addressing a European Parliament hearing in Brussels on sports and human rights, which focused on the situation of migrant workers in Qatar.

“The clock is ticking” he warned.

Pressure is mounting on the Qatari authorities to take action after a report by The Guardian newspaper revealed that 185 Nepalese workers had died on World Cup construction sites in 2013 alone because they had been denied food and water.

Evidence is growing of forced labour in the Qatari construction industry responsible for building the stadiums and other infrastructure. Speaking to EurActiv in August last year, Aidan McQuade, the director of Anti-Slavery International, called for a boycott of the event.


http://www.euractiv.com/development-policy/fifa-urged-rerun-vote-qatars-202-news-533529

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Shocking!

Wait, no it isn't ....... oil rich nation bribes it's way into hosting a major world sporting event in a sport they have virtually no presence or facilities that is typically played during a time of year when it's brutally hot in a region that is known for bringing in foreign migrant workers, hitting them with the bait & switch and otherwise finding ways to make them slaves of economy and then needing to put together massive infrastructure in a short period of time

Who could have seen this coming..........................

 

[Stout]

This whole thing has been a farce from the beginning. Blatter even wants to play it in the winter! Utter stupidity.

 

[Dr. Jones]

This is a horrible situation from every angle.

 

[Zeno]

It should have been the US or the Aussies but obviously money talks with FIFA. Qatar is less than half the size of Maricopa County and had 1 stadium in it at the time of voting and is the 101st ranked nation according to FIFA. If money didn't buy WC 2022 I am not sure what did.

First they talked of cooling all the stadiums against the heat and then there is talk of a winter World Cup (throwing all the club calendars out the window for a whole year).

 

[Neo]

I've spent a little time in Qatar and Doha really is an amazing and beautiful city. But there is no way they should be hosting the World Cup.

People talk about the heat, but honestly you cannot imagine how hot it is until you have experience it yourself. Phoenix has similar temperatures, but in Qatar you get those types of temps with high humidity that makes for an unimaginable misery. People will die in the stands if they try to hold any outdoor games in the summertime.

I had a Palestinian tour guide while I was there and while he tried to put a postive spin on everything, foreign workers are treated terribly. He was not allowed to leave the country or quit his job without his employers permission. Maybe he was exaggerating in order to get tips but it sounds like legalized slavery to me.