FIFA is accused of “absolute negligence” over Saudi Arabia’s immigrant workers: already 48 dead!

Two top groups of human rights blame FIFA for ‘absolute negligence»As to her responsibility to millions of immigrant workersto construct the stages and infrastructure, which the Saudi Arabia For the 2034 World Cup.

OR criticism The government’s body of world football is described in detail in two new reports on the deaths of immigrants in the Gulf Town, published Tuesday by Fairsquare and Human Rights Watch (HRW). And they come, one day after FIFA’s boss, Gianni Infantinoaccompanied the US president, Donald Trumpon a visit to the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, where they met the De Facto ruler of the state, the prince, the successor of the throne, Mohammed bin Salman.

Reports, based on research on recent Deaths of 48 Bangladeshi, India and Nepal Migrants of 48 Migrantspresenting a picture of a nation of reception, which still does not adhere to security at the construction sites, is not interested in properly investigating accidents and is very late to compensate for mourning families!

But the two studies also criticize FIFA that he did not take the lessons from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where government officials They finally admitted that hundreds of immigrant workers had diedwhile working in projects associated with the tournament.

“The horrible work accidents, killing immigrant workers in Saudi Arabiashould be a huge red flag for businesses, football fans and sports associations seeking to work with FIFA in the 2034 World Cup“, Said the Deputy Director of HRW for the Middle East, Michael Paige.

HRW’s study includes references to workers who died in horrible accidents, but also fall dead due to thermal exhaustion. The families of these men They usually stay without information about what really happened and often have long delays in repatriation of their loved ones or receiving any financial compensation.

In March of this year, the British newspaper The Guardian He said Pakistani immigrant worker Muhammad Arshad was the first known death at a land site when he fell from the upper level of Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar.

Fairsquare’s report focuses on lack of datawhich have been collected by the Saudi Arabic authorities for the population of immigrant workers, in failure to properly certify deaths in the Absence of any learning attempt at accidents when occurring or asking anyone to account for.

It is also striking that there was a 40 percent increase in the population of immigrant workers in the five years, which preceded the World Cup awards in Saudi Arabia in 2024 -It’s up to 13.2 million!

“The inevitable result is that there will be an increase in construction deaths and most deaths will be inexplicable. It will be difficult to determine how many will die, but it is undoubtedly that many thousands will die, and this is completely unacceptable, “said HRW’s founding director.

“Is particularly sad considering that many of the deaths will be immediate result of the 2034 World Cup. FIFA’s response to the dangers was amateurish and I say it kindly. It was her negligence. We published a report last year, which found that FIFA was completely inappropriate to rule something as important as world football. At that time it seemed very bold allegation but now it’s just a statement of the obvious“, He added!

As part of its biggest sporting event in the world, Saudi Arabia is committed to building 11 new stages, eight of which 134 training facilities, 185,000 new hotel rooms, fan zones, conference centers and a railway line between Riyadh and Riyadh. And these, while completing the largest construction site in the world In Neom, the futuristic city in the desertwhich is the focus of Mohammed bin Salman’s strategic plan for the country.