One year on, the Qatar World Cup continues to generate suspicion

All eight stadiums are complete. The 2022 World Cup it has stood up despite hostility from neighbors, corruption investigations and concerns about alleged worker abuse.

This Sunday, a clock on the coastal promenade of the Qatari capital was unveiled, beginning the one-year countdown to the opening of the World Cup.

Over the next 12 months, we will have to expect more pressure from human rights organizations, protests from players and outrage from some organizers of the contest.

“Qatar has been unfairly treated and scrutinized for several years,” Nasser Al Khater, director general of the organizing committee, said on Saturday.

But that vigilance has produced improvements in labor laws, given the criticism of working conditions since the works began to improve the country’s infrastructure as a result of the fact that the FIFA voted in December 2010 to give Qatar the World Cup headquarters.

According to different reports, the cost of these works amounts to US $ 200,000 million.

“If you take this in the context of the region, I think that Qatar is now a forerunner with all the reforms it has made, be it in standards for workers, for their accommodation or with the establishment of a minimum wage,” said Al Khater. to the press.

In some cases, it was the organizing committee of the World Cup that presented changes before the country in general. But law enforcement and the conditions workers face – particularly in the appalling summer heat – remain a concern for some organizations.

Qatar has not provided full details or data on the deaths of migrant workers, particularly from South Asia, who have done much of the work to build infrastructure in the country.

Amnesty International has underlined the need for further investigations into the cause of the deaths, the lack of the right to form trade unions and the need for all companies to comply with new laws, according to which workers must be allowed to leave their jobs. jobs without permission from the employer.

“There are criticisms. There is work to be done. However, there is a lot of progress, which unfortunately has not been captured in reports like those of Amnesty or Human Rights Watch, ”said Al Khater.

Twelve countries, including Qatar as the host, have qualified for the 32-team tournament. Members of Denmark have reported that their training attire in Qatar will include critical human rights messages.

Denmark announced that their training uniform in Qatar will show messages with questions about the human rights situation.

Thus, it is certain that in this World Cup there will be activism on the part of the footballers.

The construction work is nearing its final stretch. “The eight stadiums for the World Cup are complete,” said Al Khater.

And all eight are within a maximum 30-mile (48-kilometer) radius of Doha. Seven are ready to host matches.

Stadium 974, built with that number of shipping containers, will be inaugurated this month at the FIFA Arab Cup, which will serve as a rehearsal event for the World Cup.