Less than two months before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the uproar is mounting. In recent days, several personalities have taken the floor to announce their boycott of the world competition, because of the violations of human rights and the environment in its organization. And the France team takes its position. French captain (in the absence of Hugo Lloris) Raphaël Varane confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday September 21 that the Blues are joining the OneLove campaign of combating discrimination.
“It represents certain values, it’s a common message, it’s good to have this unity”said the Manchester United defender. “We are often adversaries but sometimes we also manage to fight together.” France indeed joins nine other European nations involved in the campaign: England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.
Eight of these ten nations qualified for the World Cup – Norway and Sweden did not win their ticket – will wear a special armband, “which wears a heart containing colors representative of all backgrounds, for this winter’s tournament fixtures, with the intention of continuing until the end of the season”, further specifies the press release from the English selection on the campaign.
“Together with the other members of UEFA’s human rights working group, we are pushing Fifa to take stock of the concept of a center for migrant workers in Qatar, to provide them with advice and helpexplains the English Federation (FA) in its press release [en anglais]. We continue to push for the principle of compensation for the families of migrant workers who have lost their lives or who have been injured during construction projects.”
We are uniting with nine other European countries in support of OneLove, a campaign that will use the power of football to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination.
—England (@England) September 21, 2022
This campaign, initiated by the Netherlands, “will use the power of football to promote inclusion and send a message against all forms of discrimination, as the eyes of the world turn to the World Cup”, explains the press release. He then specifies that this “message will be symbolized by the captains of the respective men’s national teams who will wear the distinctive OneLove armband”. The action will begin, for the France team, from the League of Nations match against Austria, Thursday, at the Stade de France.