FIFA officials responsible for awarding 2022 World Cup to Qatar should hide their heads in shame and return the bribes they received ...

without those bribes they would have never considered Qatar, we all know that.  No use pretending that the FIFA officials awarded the WC without enriching themselves in the bargain. Some of us are not that naive to believe that they actually and truly thought that a place like Qatar, a country that is one of the worst abusers of human rights, would be the ideal place to hold an event where the free world could visit without being appalled by Qatari cavemen traditions, rules and regulations.

Pete Pattisson writing at TheGuardian:
  ....Abuse and exploitation of migrant workers preparing emirate for 2022.
World Cup construction 'will leave 4,000 migrant workers dead'
Analysis: Qatar 2022 puts Fifa's reputation on the line.
Dozens of Nepalese migrant labourers have died in Qatar in recent weeks and thousands more are enduring appalling labour abuses, a Guardian investigation has found, raising serious questions about Qatar's preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.

This summer, Nepalese workers died at a rate of almost one a day in Qatar, many of them young men who had sudden heart attacks. The investigation found evidence to suggest that thousands of Nepalese, who make up the single largest group of labourers in Qatar, face exploitation and abuses that amount to modern-day slavery, as defined by the International Labour Organisation, during a building binge paving the way for 2022.

According to documents obtained from the Nepalese embassy in Doha, at least 44 workers died between 4 June and 8 August. More than half died of heart attacks, heart failure or workplace accidents.



The investigation also reveals:

• Evidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project.
• Some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them running away.
• Some workers on other sites say employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards, in effect reducing them to the status of illegal aliens.
• Some labourers say they have been denied access to free drinking water in the desert heat.
• About 30 Nepalese sought refuge at their embassy in Doha to escape the brutal conditions of their employment.

The allegations suggest a chain of exploitation leading from poor Nepalese villages to Qatari leaders. The overall picture is of one of the richest nations exploiting one of the poorest to get ready for the world's most popular sporting tournament................



Oliver Kay writing at TheAustralian:
....FIFA's controversial choice for 2022 World Cup host, is under fresh scrutiny over reported abuse of migrant workers on construction projects for the tournament - abuse that has been described as amounting to slavery.

FIFA, world football's governing body, said yesterday it was "very concerned" by reports in The Guardian that at least 44 Nepalese workers died in Qatar between June 4 and August 8 amid evidence of forced labour in the construction of Lusail City, a purpose-built city that is due to host the 2022 World Cup final.
FIFA added that its executive committee would discuss the matter in Zurich next week, as well as a proposal to move the tournament to a winter date because of health concerns arising from the oppressive summer heat in Qatar.
FIFA is expected to agree to a period of consultation before making any firm commitments, in part because of the concerns raised by the Premier League and other European leagues and by broadcast companies, some of whom are concerned by the idea of a winter World Cup.
Football Federation Australia has said that if the date is changed, it will seek up to $43 million in compensation for its failed bid, which was predicated on the event being held during the northern summer.
Officials in Zurich maintain, however, that neither the latest revelations nor any of the previous controversies will affect Qatar's hopes of hosting the tournament....