World Cup organizer Qatar pushes stars forward and tackles critics

David Beckham, football star, stands among the cooks and waiters of the Japanese restaurant Nobu in Doha, Qatar. It is an exclusive place in a beautiful location on the water. Dishes are more expensive than the monthly meal allowance that many migrant workers in the country receive. The men and women of the kitchen brigade look cheerfully at the camera. Beckham smiles.

A few weeks after restaurant Nobu posted the photo to Instagram, it became clear why Beckham was in Qatar in early October. According to various British media, he will be the face of the World Cup. Beckham would receive an amount of approximately 175 million euros for the promotion of the football tournament that will be held at the end of next year. His management did not argue that Beckham’s involvement in the World Cup could bring about “positive change”.

David Beckham had already given an interview to the Qatari television station BeIN in 2019. He praised the “safe facilities, great hotels and fantastic culture” – “we are working on something unique here”, said the former football player. He had heard about working conditions and the position of women in Qatar, Beckham said, “but it’s nice to be able to show that people are wrong – and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Dutch national team qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, with a 2-0 victory over Norway. From a sporting point of view, the World Cup is an opportunity for the Orange to take revenge for last year’s European Championship – the Netherlands was eliminated by the Czech Republic in the eighth final.

Footballers as activists?

The ethical discussion about human rights in the country that organizes the World Cup is no longer conducted by players and staff of the Dutch national team. After the appointment of Louis van Gaal as national coach, according to the KNVB, a “conscious choice” was made to move discussions about it from “the field to the boardroom.” Under Van Gaal, players have therefore no longer made a public statement. That happened under predecessor Frank de Boer, when the selection for the World Cup qualifier against Latvia wore shirts with the imprint ‘Football Supports Change’.

KNVB directors have already visited Qatar and emphasize in conversations with other football associations and the tournament organization that they want to see “sustainable change” in Qatar. Van Gaal said: “I understand that we are leading the way and taking action. But to ask the players or the national coach that every time, I think that goes a long way.”

It makes sense in a sense: Van Gaal has been appointed to bring success to the Dutch national team. Footballers, according to Van Gaal, are footballers. They have to survive in a world with extreme media attention, in which they seem to be regularly public property, always have to guard against criticism. Can you expect them to be activists too?

At the same time, their fame is precisely the reason that they can make a difference. No one shows that better than the Qatari World Cup organization. One football celebrity after another is used to promote the World Cup. The PR battle for the image of the Gulf state is intensifying as the World Cup draws closer. The new role of David Beckham is proof of this, as is the ‘World Cup ambassadorship’ of, among others, Xavi Hernández (the new coach of FC Barcelona), Samuel Eto’o (former top football player) and Ronald de Boer (ex-player). Dutch soccerteam).

They all have a history in Qatar, as a player or coach, and now get paid – exactly how much is unclear – to promote the World Cup. Qatar is portrayed by them as a futuristic country, with excellent facilities. Eto’o expects “the most beautiful World Cup ever”, De Boer said in the AD Believing the World Cup “can help improve the situation in Qatar”, Xavi is confident that people will be “pleasantly surprised” at all the country has to offer.

Also read: the background article about the working conditions of workers in Qatar

The authorities in Qatar like to emphasize all the social changes that have been implemented in recent years. There was a higher minimum wage, better protection against the heat for workers (including cooling vests) and the kafala system was officially dismantled. That system – common in the Gulf region – prohibits migrant workers from changing jobs without their employer’s permission. This can lead to exploitation and oppression.

The situation has indeed improved for many workers, although Amnesty International warned this week that many employers are not complying with the new rules and that the government is not monitoring enough. “Any progress made to date has been in vain if Qatar settles for poor implementation of the policy and fails to hold employers who abuse their employees to account,” said program director Mark Dummett.

Questions from relatives

Previously, Qatar often left these kinds of reports unanswered, but with the World Cup approaching, that has changed. The Qatari government’s communications agency reported that “242,870 workers have successfully switched jobs” since the change in law and that “more than 400,000 workers have benefited from the new minimum wage.” Qatar does acknowledge that the implementation of the new labor laws is a ‘work in progress’.

Qatar, and the World Cup ambassadors, will not open up about the deceased guest workers of their own accord. The British newspaper The Guardian revealed early this year that at least 6,500 guest workers have died in Qatar since the 2010 World Cup was assigned to the Gulf state. Many of them would have succumbed to heat stress, which can cause a heart attack. The death toll is compiled from statistics from countries that have guest workers working in Qatar, such as India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It’s not just about people who have worked on World Cup projects. Qatar firmly denies that the numbers are correct. Human rights groups believe that the death toll is even higher.

In the summer, Amnesty wrote in a report that Qatar is failing to investigate the cause of death of workers. In the report, relatives are told who have no idea what caused their loved one to die. They also regularly wait in vain for financial compensation. Last week the British newspaper published The Times a story that shows that many young, healthy men from Qatar return with chronic kidney disease, from which they sometimes die. According to doctors quoting the paper, the ailments are most likely the result of unhealthy working conditions in Qatar, especially working for hours in extreme heat without drinking enough water. There is no record of how many workers are involved.

In the meantime, there are indications that the World Cup organization is working hard to prevent negative images. In May, Kenyan guest worker Malcolm Bidali was arrested. He had written blogs under the pseudonym ‘Noah’, in which he talked about the filthy accommodations in which many guest workers live. He also criticized the royal family. In NRC Said Bidali last weekend of his arrest and incarceration: “I thought: I am Kenyan. I am black. I have insulted the royal family. I’m going to disappear.”

Also read: the NRC interview with Malcolm Bidali, on his arrest and detention in Qatar

For two weeks he was untraceable by human rights organizations, who exerted international pressure on Qatar. Bidali was unable to get a lawyer for a long time and spent weeks in solitary confinement. In the end, he was fined about 6,000 euros – paid by a trade union organization – for spreading “false news”. Then he left the country.

The case made a big impression on guest workers. Several human rights organizations have noticed that it has become more difficult to contact them since his arrest – according to them there is a great fear of reprisals.

World Cup staffer in prison

At the same time, there is a legal case involving Abdullah Ibhais (35), who worked for years as a manager in the communications department of the World Cup Organizing Committee (Supreme Committee). Earlier this year, Ibhais was sentenced by a lower court in Qatar to five years in prison and a fine. He was accused of bribery in publishing a social media job for the Supreme Committee.

According to human rights groups Human Rights Watch and FairSquare, both active in Qatar, Ibhais’ confessions were obtained through “intimidation and coercion” and other evidence is poorly substantiated. Ibhais and the organizations say he spent days in jail without access to a lawyer. According to them, what the charge entailed was kept secret for a long time.

Ibhais believes he has fallen into disfavor with the regime after he strongly criticized the World Cup organization’s handling of guest workers. The Norwegian Football Blog josimar recently published WhatsApp conversations and a voicemail from the top of the World Cup Organizing Committee.

During a strike by guest workers – who had not received wages for several months – the leadership of the World Cup organization emphasizes that the communication department must insist that the strike has nothing to do with the World Cup. Ibhais says in the WhatsApp conversation that it is indeed workers from World Cup projects who have not received any money. He refuses to spread false information as a PR strategy. Hassan Al Thawadi, the boss of the World Cup organization in Qatar, says at one point in a voicemail: “Make up a narrative, give it a twist.”

Last week it became clear how keen the Qatari authorities are on these kinds of articles in the European press. The Supreme Committee, through a Norwegian lawyer, demanded that josimar would delete the article and WhatsApp conversations. According to the World Cup organization, the article contains “false and defamatory statements” and confidentiality is violated. The blog has so far refused to retract the piece.

While his appeal is still pending, Ibhais was arrested again this week. His family released a statement on Wednesday, lashing out at FIFA, which they say is not intervening and is partly responsible for Ibhais’ “life, safety, health and well-being.” They also write: “We are concerned that FIFA’s stance in practice gives the green light to the Supreme Committee to continue its efforts to suppress criticism and abuse its power to do so. FIFA has so far done nothing to ensure that Abdullah receives a fair trial.” Ibhais, the family writes, has gone on hunger strike.

Although the issue receives relatively little attention in Western Europe, it should be crucial for the way the World Cup is viewed, says FairSquare director Nicholas McGeehan. In a statement, he wrote: “Leaving an important staffer of the World Cup organization languish in prison after an extremely unfair trial would hang like a dark cloud over this tournament.”