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Canada is increasingly under pressure to push for compensation of migrant workers whose labour made the 2022 FIFA World Cup possible. Several migrant workers who were involved in the construction of the seven new stadiums are reported to have died. Many others were injured but little or nothing has been done to facilitate compensation.
Canada’s football governing body has, however, remained non-committal on the matter, sparking protests from several quarters. Canada is set to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after 36 years. It will be their second appearance on the world’s biggest football stage.
Canada’s silence on the reported human rights abuses in Qatar has forced soccer fans and Amnesty International Canada to intervene in pushing for action from the country’s football governing body ahead of the World Cup.
Ketty Nivyabandi, Canada’s Amnesty International secretary general, says that while Canada remains cagey on the issue, top world soccer federations in France, the US, England, the Netherlands and many others have expressed displeasure with the way Qatar has handled the compensation of migrant workers. Ketty Nivyabandi further said that the silence of Canada Soccer on such a sensitive issue is ‘highly disappointing’ and urged the country’s national team to act, adding that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is happening at the expense of human rights violations.
According to Amnesty International, through Head of Economic and Social Justice, Steve Cockburn, Qatar has done only half of what is expected to remedy the worrying labour situation in the country. Delayed wages, unfavourable working conditions, lack of rest days and many other labour concerns remain thorny issues as ever. At least two million people are said to have participated in construction work that involved preparation for the 2022 World Cup. However, compensation and deaths of migrant workers remain largely uninvestigated according to the rights body.
$440 Million Compensation-World Cup Prize Money Equivalence
A few months ago, Amnesty International flanked by fans groups, several workers’ unions and coalitions for human rights wrote to FIFA, demanding that the world football governing body pays abused migrant workers $44O million.
Denmark is the latest country that has initiated a high-profile push for compensation of migrant workers who have died or got injured in Qatar.
The Danish national soccer team will wear World Cup jerseys with faded logos to protest against the inhumane treatment of migrant workers in Qatar. The country also unveiled a black jersey ‘mourning colour’ made by Hummel to reinforce their commitment toward ensuring that migrant workers who made the 2022 World Cup possible are honoured.
Check out the picture of the Danish World Cup 2022 black kit as posted by Hummel on Instagram.
Canada Soccer Fans Group ‘Voyageurs’ Irked
Voyager, a popular soccer fans group in Canada, has also weighed in on the matter. The prominent group is calling on the Canadian government, players, and Canada Soccer to step up their effort in pushing for compensation calls.
While Voyageurs has reiterated that their main purpose is to cheer the Canadian national soccer team wherever they are, the group recognizes that human rights abuses in Qatar are well-documented, including the ill-treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.
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