Stadiums built but scrutiny endures for Qatar World Cup head
A dozen years of defending Qatar’s suitability to host the World Cup can leave Hassan Al-Thawadi exasperated at the enduring glare of scrutiny and the accusatory, rather than celebratory, tone.
...it is the changes to working conditions and rights in the nation that Al-Thawadi is trying to accentuate on the eve of the World Cup draw when the finalists discover who and where they will be playing in November.
“Human suffering is a tragedy. Simple as that...We recognized from day one from before we bid to host the World Cup, that things had to change. This is not something that dawned upon us as a result of the World Cup.”Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, in an interview with The Associated Press
And yet changes to labor laws were not part of the public Qatar bid. They only came in recent years rather than before construction started on the eight new stadiums required after the 2010 vote once groups, including Amnesty International, applied pressure.
They include the introduction of a minimum wage and the dismantling of the “kafala” sponsorship system binding workers to their employer. Enforcement across Qatar is the challenge, especially as investigators hone in on construction sites away from the eight World Cup stadiums that are complete.
But Al-Thawadi went from the interview to the FIFA Congress where Norwegian football federation president Lise Klaveness called out the freedoms and safety denied to workers and the lack of LGBTQ+ protections in Qatar.
Al-Thawadi was riled, claiming in response that Klaveness had not attempted to contact him. It is a sign of how vexed Al-Thawadi can be having to continue justifying Qatar as the Middle East’s first World Cup host.
Al-Thawadi is hoping people will listen, even if the answers or Qatari laws do not satisfy them.
“What we say is what we’re offering them, providing a safe World Cup, a welcoming World Cup for everybody. And this is the opportunity for everybody to sit down and build relations...People are very quick to pass judgment...Very quick and very firm in their judgment with that, whether they have the full information or not.”Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy