The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (better known as FIFA) has announced that it has set up a $100 million World Cup Legacy Fund to help grassroots organizations in Brazil following the $11 billion 2014 World Cup held in the same place. This is similar to the fund given to South Africa following the 2010 World Cup of an equal amount for purposes of recovery due to the spending of the country on the World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup requires multiple stadiums every year due to the multitude of games happening at once. The costs for building so many stadiums often result in a deficit for the country hosting the World Cup. Though there is a significant increase in trade and tourism for the country, this is also seen in countries that made a bid for the cup, leading to belief that it is merely a signal that that country is open for trade.
Qatar is the smallest nation to have ever hosted a World Cup with a population of 1.7 million, meaning that much of the labor used for building its stadiums comes from foreign workers. However, Qatar is also being called out for the improper treatment of the workers it has hired to work on its World Cup stadiums. Migrant workers from Nepal coming to Qatar in hope of good wages for work found conditions on par with modern-day slavery. Over 30 Nepalese workers have gone to the Nepalese embassy in Qatar to seek refuge from their managers with complaints of withheld pay, refusal to supply water in the desert heat and dangerous working conditions. It is projected based on the current death rate for migrant workers that by the time construction is finished and the World Cup arrives, over 4,000 workers will have already died.
Those working on the Qatar World Cup are required to fulfill their contract, which can take up to five years, under the Qatar kalafa system. Qatar has promised to reform the system following attention to the conditions by news sources such as British newspaper “The Guardian” which reported over 964 deaths over the course of 2012 and 2013. Many are also complaining of the dangerous working conditions, with temperatures topping 120 F. Workers arriving in Qatar come expecting more pay than they are provided, traveling from around the world to find work there.
“I’m honestly surprised that FIFA, such a well known organization, would support slave labor” said Emma Jewett, senior.
Qatar beat out America, Australia, South Korea, and Japan to host the Olympics this year over the course of four rounds of bidding. There are currently investigations of corruption underway due to a former football official from Qatar being involved in the bidding process. Lawyer Michael Garcia led an investigation regarding this, however he quit shortly after due to a “lack of leadership” in the investigation.