Labour reform failure could see Qatar lose 2022 World Cup

BERLIN — Qatar must meet a March deadline for specific labour reforms or it could risk losing the 2022 World Cup finals, FIFA executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said yesterday.

Reuters reported that the German, who was formerly head of his country’s FA and has been a vocal critic of the desert state’s ability to host a World Cup under extreme summer heat, said a proposal would be made to the world governing body’s executive committee meeting tomorrow.

“Qataris must deploy, by a March 10, 2015 deadline, the independent commission — tasked with regularly monitoring human rights conditions at World Cup construction sites and note progress — as demanded in the Piper report,” Zwanziger told Sport Bild magazine.

“Until now apparently not much has happened,” he said.

Widespread reports of human rights violations among migrant workers in the energy-rich Gulf state prompted a Qatar-sponsored review of labour legislation by British-based law firm DLA Piper, which made several recommendations including the creation of a minimum wage for each category of construction worker.

Zwanziger added that if the Qataris failed to implement the recommendations by next year’s deadline, it could have consequences for the 2022 tournament.

“Then I would expect that a national federation would put in a request for a vote by the 209 member federations at the FIFA congress at the end of May in Zurich on stripping Qatar of the World Cup,” he said.

This is not the first time Zwanziger, who is stepping down from his position as an executive committee member in March next year, has criticised holding the finals in Qatar, saying in September he did not believe the tournament would be held there.

“I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” he said at the time. “Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”

Meanwhile, European football’s club and league organisations have proposed that the 2022 World Cup be played between May and June, reported the Associated Press.

The European Club Association had previously suggested an April start, but Qatari officials complained that games would clash with Ramadan. Now, the Nyon-based ECA and European Professional Football Leagues suggest a May 5 opener and a June 4 final to ensure less disruption to the European season. They say domestic leagues would start one or two weeks early in 2021, with a shorter mid-season break.

“The May option is the best alternative to the traditional June-July timing, since it retains the logical calendar order and avoids compressing such an important competition as the World Cup in the middle of the traditional and busy club football season (winter season),” the organisations said in a statement.

“As such, simply avoiding this concentration makes the May option by far less intrusive compared to all winter proposals.”

However, FIFA is understood to be in favour of the tournament being held in November and December to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics, which is likely to be held in February that year. AGENCIES