Qatar has been criticized for hosting the upcoming World Cup for years. The focus is on bribes, environmental aspects and the human rights situation. A few days before her visit to the Gulf emirate, Interior Minister Faeser also criticized the disregard for important award criteria.
Shortly before her planned trip to Qatar, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, was critical of the host of the upcoming World Cup. Faeser and her delegation, which also includes Bernd Neuendorf as President of the German Football Association, are expected for a two-day visit to the Gulf emirate next Monday.
"For us as the federal government, this is a totally difficult award," said the interior minister, who is also responsible for federal sports funding, to the ARD magazine "Monitor", which will be broadcast tonight (9:45 p.m.). "There are criteria that must be adhered to, and then it would be better if it weren't awarded to such states," added Faeser. She emphasized that the federal government is convinced that the awarding of major sporting events should be linked to criteria, "namely, compliance with human rights and principles of sustainability".
In Qatar, she wanted to hear civil society's opinion on whether progress had been made. Faeser also wants to make it dependent on her trip whether she watches the World Cup, which runs from November 20th to December 18th. "Honestly, of course, you get more excited about the World Cup when it's in the summer and in the evenings," she said.
DFB President Neuendorf recently spoke out against a boycott of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Instead, he promoted an open discourse. "When the World Cup begins, the focus is on sport. But we have to be clear in our positioning when it comes to social and political conditions in Qatar," said Neuendorf. The 61-year-old is looking forward to the major sporting event, but at the same time sees a responsibility for the DFB and the German national team.
Among other things, Neuendorf advocates compensation payments for the families of workers who died on the World Cup construction sites. "I made my expectations clear to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. FIFA has a responsibility and it must live up to it," he said. The awarding of the World Cup to Qatar changed football. "I believe that in the future it will be very difficult to award a World Cup without first discussing what that means," explained Neuendorf. In future tournament awards, one must proceed more critically and attentively with regard to human rights and sustainability.
The World Cup host is regularly criticized for human rights violations. Qatar's Emir, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, lamented this week that the country was facing an "unprecedented campaign" that no host country had ever experienced.
