Infantino under fresh pressure over Qatar compensation ahead of FIFA congress

13 March 2023 , 15:26

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Gianni Infantino during his press conference two days before the World Cup final. (Image: PA)

Fifa president Gianni Infantino is facing fresh calls to take meaningful action around compensating the workers and families who suffered “horrific abuses” to help produce the Qatar World Cup.

Amnesty International are calling on the governing body to make progress at this week’s congress in Rwanda over a “legacy fund” announced before the tournament kicked off last November.

The human rights group have handed Fifa a petition signed by more than one million people ahead of the annual meeting of top officials, which will take place in Kigali on Thursday.

And Amnesty also brought “worker football shirts” to Fifa’s museum in Zurich to recognise the sacrifices made to build the World Cup.

“This meeting offers another opportunity for Fifa to make amends and establish a firm plan and timetable to directly and quickly recompense workers and their families who suffered shocking human rights abuses to deliver a World Cup that was built on their sacrifice,” Steve Cockburn of Amnesty International said in a statement.

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“By presenting the football shirts at the Fifa museum in Zurich we are demanding that the organisation recognises the sacrifice of migrant workers, and that their outstanding demands for compensation are met.

“Workers suffered horrific abuses to help deliver a World Cup tournament that made billions of dollars for Fifa yet brought a human cost of indebted families and workers’ deaths. While nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, there is no doubt Fifa has the resources to help mend these injustices and provide life-changing support to workers and their families.

“The time has come for Fifa to properly address its responsibilities rather than merely passing the buck to Qatar.”

Critics of the governing body’s legacy fund said that they have not committed to using it to provide support directly to workers.

Lionel Messi receives the World Cup trophy from Gianni Infantino in Doha. (AFP via Getty Images)

The Norwegian FA has tabled a discussion during congress around the “full implementation of [Fifa’s] human rights commitments, including remediation.” Supported by a number of FAs, they are calling on the governing body to “assess whether it has fulfilled its responsibility to remedy related to the 2022 World Cup, including an investigation into World Cup-related deaths and injuries.”

Fifa said that it had made a record $7.5bn (£6.2bn) in revenue from the tournament, which was won by Argentina. But more than 6,000 workers are said to have died during the building of infrastructure for the tournament - a figure disputed by the local organising committee.

Infantino will be ratified for another term as Fifa president during Thursday’s congress. He was the only candidate to run.

Alan Smith