Let’s support unpaid Qatar workers

Qatar made headlines in December 2010 when football’s world governing body Fifa awarded it the right to host the 2022 men’s football World Cup - the first time the event would be held in the Middle East.It was clear that a global event of this magnitude would mean Qatar would need to deploy immense resources and rely on vast manpower to build new stadiums, roads, hotels and other facilities and infrastructure to cater for football fans from across the globe.With migrant workers making up more than 90% of the country’s workforce, it was clear that the weight of delivering these projects would rest overwhelmingly on the shoulders of all those who travelled to Qatar in hopes of securing a better livelihood.About 100 migrant workers from Ghana, Kenya, Nepal and the Philippines, among other countries. These are our brothers who left their homes to hopefully acquire a better livelihood.Every fan is waiting eagerly to see their nation compete for a place in history. The thrill of a last-minute winner, the despair of a glaring miss, the suspense of a penalty shoot-out – these are emotions that unite people from every corner of the world. But can our eagerness to support our favourite teams be matched with support for migrant workers making the competition possible?These very people who have not been paid even though they toiled night and day to make this event possible.I don’t understand how in this day and age these type of things happen. If it's not cheap labor, then altogether people are just not getting money for their efforts and this then becomes a human right violation.So, in this regard, it is very important that we stand together with the people going through this struggle. I urge the players who will be stepping onto the field to stand with these people and to put pressure on Fifa to hold its World Cup partners to account. With that, I really need to applaud Amnesty International which raised the case with the Qatari authorities, Fifa, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar’s World Cup organising body.According to Amesty International, after they raised the issue, some employees began to receive part of what they are owed, but still have outstanding unpaid salaries. The host cannot celebrate how they have put together this prestigious event if they are not going to acknowledge what they have done to all these people. This case is the latest damning illustration of how easy it still is to exploit workers, even when they are building one of the crown jewels of the World Cup.Fifa should not have granted the multibillion-dollar tournament to Qatar without imposing on it conditions to ensure labour protections for migrant workers.Pressure should now be applied on Fifa to hold their partners responsible. People must be paid in full. Because the full payment will surely provide some welcome relief for workers.This should not happen again. Fifa has a responsibility to everyone and should put in place policies to hold partners responsible for such atrocities. limba@namibiansun.com

Let’s support unpaid Qatar workers

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Republikein 2025-08-05

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Let’s support unpaid Qatar workers

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