The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has denounced the “thousands of work accidents” observed in Qatar, which will host the World Cup in 2022.
Article written by
Published
Reading time : 1 min.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) demanded on Wednesday 26 January that respect for certain “core standards” become one “prerequisite” to the designation of host countries for international football competitions, denouncing the “thousands of occupational accidents” observed in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.
In a series of resolutions passed on Wednesday, the Assembly calls on FIFA and UEFA to “review the conditions that candidate countries for the organization of major football events must respect” and to plan “predetermined minimum criteria” concerning in particular “workers’ rights, equality between women and men, or the protection of underage athletes”.
Thereby, “respect for the fundamental standards of the ILO (International Labor Organization, editor’s note) should be a prerequisite and not a goal to be achieved after being named as the host country of the World Cup”, demands the PACE, in view of the “thousands of work accidents, including fatalities” observed “in Qatar since the country was designated to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup”.
“Thanks to the spotlight football brings to Qatar, the system has evolved in record time,” replied Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, present in the hemicycle of the Strasbourg institution, mentioning the establishment of a minimum wage (about 1.16 euros per hour) or a regulation “protecting workers from the heat”.