The football World Cup in Qatar begins in just under four months, and the negative headlines don't stop there: an investigation documents "significant human rights violations" in the FIFA hotels for the tournament. The world association wants to examine the report.
Serious violations are denounced in a report investigating conditions for migrant workers from Africa and Asia in hotels in the World Cup host country Qatar. According to the International Labor Rights Forum GLJ-ILRF and the human and labor rights organization Equidem, interviews with workers documented "significant labor and human rights violations". The investigation period was between February 2020 and July of this year. According to GLJ-ILRF and Equidam, 13 of 17 partner hotels of the world football association FIFA are affected.
Upon request, FIFA stated that it would carefully evaluate the report. "FIFA does not accept any abuse of workers by companies involved in the preparation and staging of the World Cup." In principle, hotels would terminate their contracts if they did not remedy certain deficiencies.
The World Cup will take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 this year. The host has been criticized since the end of 2010 because of the human rights situation and the conditions for foreign workers. The government of the emirate repeatedly refers to numerous reforms - especially in the area of workers' rights, but exploitation continues, according to various human rights organizations.
In the GLJ-ILRF and Equidam report, workers from Africa and Asia describe cases of exploitation, discrimination, health and safety risks and sexualised violence. The fear of losing one's job is high. According to the report, fundamental rights are being denied. Anyone who demands this must expect to be deported.
The German national soccer team recently confirmed that it would reserve luxury accommodation in the desert of Qatar for the World Cup. The hotel "Zulal Wellness Resort" in the very north of Qatar is the quarter furthest from the center of Doha in the emirate on the Persian Gulf. The other 31 World Cup participants have opted for more central accommodation, as can be seen from the list of the world association FIFA. The accommodations of the national teams are also likely to have been largely built by guest workers.
