World Cup 2022: ‘Inaction’ on workers’ rights ‘tainting’ World Cup legacy, says Amnesty International

“Inaction” by Qatar and Fifa on workers’ rights is “tainting the legacy” of the 2022 World Cup, according to Amnesty International.

Almost a year since the tournament began, the human rights group claims progress has “largely stalled”.

It says “remedy and justice for hundreds of thousands of workers who suffered abuses linked to the tournament remain elusive”.

In a new report titled ‘A Legacy in Jeopardy’, the organisation concludes that reforms have been “weakly-enforced” with abuses “still continuing”.

However, Qatar’s government responded by insisting that the World Cup “accelerated labour reforms, creating a significant and lasting tournament legacy”.

Fifa said it was “undeniable that significant progress has taken place”, but accepted that “heightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country”.

Controversy over the human cost of building the infrastructure required for the 2022 tournament in the gulf state’s extreme summer heat has hung over the event for years.

In 2021 it was revealed that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its bid to host the World Cup in 2010.

However, the Qatari government said not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects, and that many could have died from old age or other natural causes. Before the tournament, authorities claimed there had only been three ‘work-related’ deaths on actual stadium construction sites since work began in 2014.

But during the event, organisers said the number of migrant workers who died on World Cup-related projects was “between 400 and 500”.

Qatar had introduced labour reforms from 2017, with more protection for workers, a minimum wage, and the dismantling of the controversial ‘kafala’ sponsorship system, but there have been long-standing concerns over the implementation of the changes.

Despite pressure from campaigners and European football associations, as well as generating a record £6bn from the World Cup, Fifa resisted calls for a compensation fund for the families of workers who had died, instead setting up a ‘legacy fund’ directed at education.

Amid calls for the creation of a Migrant Worker Centre in Doha, Fifa President Gianni Infantino announced plans for a permanent office for the International Labour Organization – a UN agency.