Increased Pressure on Qatar Ahead of the World Cup
The football world is counting down to the start of the 2022 World Cup, and major European leagues, along with other leagues and competitions worldwide, have made significant changes to their match schedules due to the tournament’s proximity to January to ensure everything aligns with the World Cup. However, pressure from human rights groups and a significant number of governmental and non-governmental organizations worldwide on Qatar to address the dire situation of workers who have been engaged for many years in building numerous facilities and glittering stadiums in the country is increasing. Reports about workers who have lost their lives during the decade of construction for the World Cup have been released for a long time. Nevertheless, Qatar’s strong media spending capability has helped the country resist the consequences of the workers’ dire conditions and accountability for the deaths of a significant number of them. Human Rights Watch has now officially requested compensation from the Qatari government to the families of foreign workers who have died, increasing pressure on the government. One of the bases for this new pressure is the staggering cost and astonishing spending spree of the Qataris. Some estimates, though somewhat exaggerated, put the budget spent on Qatar’s World Cup facilities at up to three hundred billion dollars. This is while the Brazil World Cup cost nearly twelve billion dollars, and the Russia World Cup cost fourteen billion dollars.