FIFA President Gianni Infantino and International Labor Organization (ILO) Director General Gilbert Houngbo spoke of “future cooperation” in the framework of the Qatar World Cup this Sunday (4), after harsh criticism to granting the tournament to the emirate.
The ILO proposes carrying out a “diligent assessment” of the social rights of candidate countries to organize the World Cup, explained Houngbo shortly before in an interview with AFP in which he was “reasonably optimistic” about a possible agreement.
“We have been in talks with the ILO for several years and we want to ensure that our fruitful cooperation continues into the future,” Infantino said in a statement released after the meeting.
“Strengthening the relationship between FIFA and the ILO is also part of the legacy of the 2022 World Cup,” he added.
“All the conversations we’ve had so far lead me to believe that FIFA is more than determined to ensure that, in the upcoming World Cups, the social issue and respect for labor standards are fundamental,” Houngbo told AFP.
“The world would gain from this if the bidding and adjudication process for organizing the World Cup, like the Olympic Games or other sports, took into account the situation of the countries involved,” he said.
In a press conference on the eve of the World Cup, on November 19, Infantino mentioned talks about “a protocol agreement with the ILO” and the will to “establish programs based on the experience acquired in Qatar”.
Since being credited with hosting the tournament in December 2010, the tiny Gulf emirate has been criticized for its respect for human rights and, more specifically, the working and living conditions of its hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from the Southeast. Asia and Africa.
In response, Doha advocated abolishing the “kafala” (sponsorship system that made workers almost the property of their employers), adopting a monthly minimum wage of 1,000 rials (about 270 euros, 284 dollars) or limiting hours work during warmer periods.
International unions, which negotiated these measures, and the ILO, which has been based in the emirate since 2018, are now asking companies to improve the implementation of the reforms.
Qatar denies the deaths of thousands of workers on construction sites for the World Cup, despite revelations from Western media and NGOs.
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