Human Rights issues and FIFA

Fifa will have to consider the future of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as there are reports of massive human rights violations against the immigrant workers building the stadiums that will host the event. According to the World Report, workers typically pay exorbitant recruitment fees and employers regularly take control of their passports when they arrive in Qatar. The kafala (sponsorship) system ties a migrant worker’s legal residence to his or her employer, or sponsor. Migrant workers commonly complain that employers fail to pay their wages on time if at all, but are barred from changing jobs without their sponsoring employer’s consent other than in exceptional cases and with express permission of the Interior Ministry. Adding to their vulnerability, they must obtain an exit visa from their sponsor in order to leave Qatar. Migrant workers are prohibited from unionizing or engaging in strikes, although they make up 99 percent of the private sector workforce. Additionally, many migrant workers live in cramped, unsanitary conditions, with one bathroom for every twenty men.

Soccer is the world’s most watched sport, and FIFA is the most influential sports organization in the world. The federation needs to make a stand against these terrible violations and threaten to cancel the world cup if the working conditions are not fixed. Qatar should not even have won the bid in the first place given that they bought votes, but regardless of that there is no excuse for the way these migrant workers are being treated in the country and something must be done immediately.