Amid the furore raised in certain quarters about Qatar’s alleged ill-treatment of workers in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup in 2022, it is heartening to note that authorities in the country have sought to change skewed perceptions in a calm and unpretentious manner.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in conjunction with the Labour Ministry have put in place measures to give Qatar’s huge expatriate workforce a sense of belonging and pride. And all of it is getting noticed at the highest levels, too.
Among the many initiatives, however, it is the Workers’ Cup – a football tournament mainly for construction workers last year – that has attracted the attention and praise of none other than the top sports official at the United Nations.
Wilfried Lemke, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace, has singled out the tournament for special praise, saying it will leave a strong “social legacy” in the wake of the World Cup in 2022.
“I strongly believe that such efforts will bear fruit in terms of the social legacy that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will imprint for and beyond the event,” Lemke said after witnessing some of the action and talking to the players involved.
Lemke was also pleased with the developments related to workers’ safety and accommodation.
“During my visits to the Workers’ Cup and workers’ accommodation, I was pleased to learn about the developments happening in Qatar with regards to the safeguarding of rights of workers on construction sites for the preparation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,” he said.
“In particular, the standards that have been formulated for workers’ welfare are a good step in the improvement of conditions. Of key importance now is their implementation based on a strong monitoring and follow-up mechanism with appropriate capacity and resource allocation.”
The Workers’ Cup is in its knockout stages now, and it is worth noting that AMANA, a team representing the first stadium construction site in Al Wakrah, have reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in which 198 goals have been scored so far in 3,960 minutes of action at various grounds in Qatar, including the iconic Al Sadd Sports Club.
“We are delighted see how this initiative has grown again this year. As we make progress on the ground, we will continue to reach out to communities across the country, and would like to wish all the qualified teams success in the quarter-finals,” said Nasser al-Khater, Executive Director, Communications and Marketing, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.
The World Cup is still eight years away, but in the interim Qatar can expect many more changes which will help the event leave behind a lasting legacy for everybody to cherish.
