World Cup 2022: Fifa tells all competing nations to 'focus on football' in Qatar

2 years ago 52

Norway deterioration shirts protesting against the Qatar World Cup

Fifa has written to each 32 teams competing astatine the World Cup to archer them the clip has travel to "focus connected the football".

The tournament, which starts successful Qatar connected 20 November, has been surrounded by controversy.

Qatar has been criticised for its stance connected same-sex relationships, its quality rights grounds and its attraction of migrant workers.

Peaceful protests person been planned by immoderate players.

England's Harry Kane and 9 different captains of European teams volition beryllium wearing 'One Love' armbands.

Denmark volition deterioration "toned-down" shirts for the World Cup to protestation against Qatar - their kit supplier Hummel said it "does not privation to beryllium visible" successful a tourney it claims "has outgo thousands of lives".

Paris, and different French cities, are refusing to surface World Cup matches successful nationalist areas, contempt France being the defending champions.

Australia's squad has released a video urging Qatar to abolish its laws connected same-sex relationships.

Speaking this week Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said it was "not fair" to expect players to marque governmental statements oregon protests astatine the tournament.

And England's Beth Mead said connected Thursday it is "disappointing" the tourney is being held successful Qatar. Mead, who is openly gay, does not deliberation the Gulf authorities is the "right place" for the tourney to beryllium staged.

The World Cup has been moved to the wintertime for the archetypal time. Qatar initially projected to big the finals during the summertime successful air-conditioned enclosed stadiums, but the program was rejected.

Qatar's World Cup organisers authorities "everyone is welcome" to sojourn the state to ticker the football, and that no-one volition beryllium discriminated against.

Now the game's satellite governing assemblage has present written to each competing nations.

In summation to calling connected countries to "now absorption connected the football" the letter, signed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino and caput wide Fatma Samoura says: "Everyone is invited careless of origin, background, religion, gender, intersexual orientation, oregon nationality."

It besides states: "We are alert that determination are galore challenges and difficulties of a governmental quality each astir the world."

Seven caller stadiums person been built for the event, arsenic good arsenic an airport, roads and astir 100 hotels. Qatar's authorities says 30,000 overseas labourers person been hired conscionable to physique the stadiums, with astir coming from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines.

Human rights groups person complained astir the attraction of overseas labourers successful Qatar, and the fig who person died there.

In February 2021, the Guardian said 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died successful Qatar since it won its World Cup bid.

The fig is based connected figures provided by the countries' embassies successful Qatar.

However, the Qatar authorities said the full was misleading, due to the fact that not each the deaths recorded were of radical moving connected World Cup-related projects.

The authorities said its mishap records showed that betwixt 2014 and 2020, determination were 37 deaths among labourers astatine World Cup stadium operation sites, lone 3 of which were "work-related".

BBC Arabic has besides gathered grounds which suggests Qatar's authorities has under-reported deaths among overseas labourers.

England's Football Association has backed calls for compensation to beryllium awarded for "any wounded oregon decease related to immoderate operation project" for the World Cup.

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