Ever since December 2010 when Qatar won its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, the country has been dogged by unwarranted allegations and criticism by the Western media, human rights bodies and labour organisations.
This is nothing new. Countries which won to host the FIFA tournament since 1930 have faced criticisms for one reason or another, be it security concern or unethical conduct.
The International Trade Union Confederation and British newspapers – The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph – focused their criticism of Qatar on the rights of workers involved in building venues for the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar has vehemently denied accusations that its successful bid was corrupt and it was mistreating the workers. It said those reports were riddled with factual errors and aimed at discrediting the positive work undertaken by the government.
In February 2014, Qatar published a set of guidelines aimed at protecting the rights of thousands of expatriate workers employed on its construction projects.
As far as workers’ rights are concerned we need not be reminded about them. Qatar is an Islamic country and knows well the rights of the labourers and the employers.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, instructed employers to treat their workers well and pay the wages before their sweat dries out.
Is there a greater admonition than this?
Qatar is already considering imposing penalties against firms that fail to pay migrant workers on time. This was one of the biggest complaints voiced by rights groups against companies in the country.
Under draft legislation now being considered by the Qatari government, companies who do not pay their workers on time could lose the ability to hire new staff.
The proposal would also allow the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to halt “all dealings” with businesses until they pay up.
Earlier last year, Qatar issued new guidelines aimed at protecting the workers.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, responsible for organising the tournament, issued standards it said would ensure workers are properly and promptly paid, that their housing is adequate and working conditions up to global standards.
Contractors will be required to set up bank accounts for their workers, creating a system under which the committee can verify that workers are paid in full and on time.
If these measures are not enough then there is something else on the agenda of the detractors as Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahad put it: 2022 World Cup is being the subject of a racist war, but the campaign against it will not affect hosting the tournament. He attributed the citing by Arab media of negative reports on Qatar’s World Cup in Western media to mixing politics with sport.
British newspapers’ investigative reporting sometimes goes a little too far. They have not even spared a member of the royal family who has been implicated in a “scandal” lawsuit in the US.
Qatar should ignore this barrage of baseless accusations and carry on with fulfilling its sporting aspirations. It’s time for the Middle East to host its first FIFA World Cup.
As the chairman of the Organising Committee for World Handball Cup 2015, HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, said yesterday, Qatar is always ready to host any sporting event.
