FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s ambition to expand the World Cup to another country has not been welcomed by human rights groups who have criticised the labour conditions in Qatar.
Kuwait is the only nation in the region on good diplomatic terms with Qatar willing to host the world cup at such short notice. If FIFA members agree to expand the World Cup to Kuwait the two stadiums where the games would take place – Al-Ahmad International Stadium and Sabah Al-Salem Stadium – would need considerable upgrades, leading to possible instances of human rights violations.
FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura wrote to the alliance of groups in a bid to reassure them; “this process also includes an assessment of human rights risks and potential opportunities associated with a possible expansion, in that respect, we look forward to the bilateral consultation calls with many of you in the coming days and weeks.”
She also defended FIFA’s record of working with Qatar to improve the rights and conditions of workers; “FIFA has been engaging closely with its Qatari counterparts over the past four years to foster such progress in the area of labour rights but also with respect to other human rights-related areas of relevance to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”
