Qatar 2022: Equipment allegedly supplied by Taliban used in stadiums construction; incl. Govt comments
"How the Taliban helped build the stadiums for the Qatar World Cup", 25 Nov 2022
The Taliban made millions from the World Cup by providing construction equipment to build stadiums in Qatar, The Telegraph understands.
Senior Taliban officials used lucrative salaries tied to peace talks to buy and then subcontract heavy machinery for tournament infrastructure over the past decade, a source from the Taliban's Doha office revealed...
“The Taliban invested heavily in the World Cup construction and the tournament was a golden duck. They were paid millions,” claimed the source, who lived in Doha in the decade running up to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021...
The Taliban’s alleged links to the construction of the World Cup, while not improper or illegal, raises further questions of a tournament embroiled by controversy and labour abuse allegations...
The Telegraph has also contacted Fifa for comment.
“The Taliban’s political office in Doha was established at the specific request of the US government in 2013, and in coordination with the former Afghan government, with the aim of fostering dialogue toward peace...The political office and its activities were monitored and engaged-with on terms agreed and coordinated with the United States. Accordingly, the United States had full visibility on all arrangements and matters with regard to hosting the Taliban political office in Qatar. Any measures taken or arrangements made were in compliance with Qatar’s obligations under international law, and under the relevant US and Qatari laws and regulations.”A Qatari government official