Hype before the big show: A general view of a World Cup signage in Doha. — Reuters
RIYADH: The upcoming football World Cup is a chance for the Gulf region to push back against “prejudice”, FIFA’s president said, defending hosts Qatar from criticism of their rights record.
Gianni Infantino was speaking via video-link at an investor conference in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which is reportedly in talks with Greece and Egypt about a separate proposal to host the World Cup in 2030.
The four-week tournament in Qatar, which begins on Nov 20, offers “an opportunity for Qatar and the whole region to present itself to the world in another light, another way, and get rid I think once and for all of some of the prejudice that sadly still exists”, Infantino said.
His comments came two days after Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al-Thani, hit out at “double standards” unleashed in an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism related to issues including treatment of foreign workers and women’s rights.
FIFA awarded the World Cup to an Arab country for the first time in 2010. They have since spent tens of billions of dollars on preparations but has faced intense scrutiny over human rights.
The Gulf state has received heavy criticism over its treatment of the foreign workers who have built the infrastructure for Qatar’s economic miracle.Foreigners make up more than 2.5 million of the 2.9 million population.
Conditions and safety standards on construction sites were long condemned by international unions. — AFP
