Paris, France- Several French cities have vowed not to broadcast the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup in public places due to a series of human rights violations.
According to a report released last year by the United Nations (UN)’s International Labour Organization (ILO), 50 migrant workers died in Qatar in 2020 and 500 others were seriously injured in preparation for the World Cup which is scheduled for November.
“For us, there was no question of setting up big screen areas for several reasons, the first is the conditions in which this World Cup has been organized, both in terms of the environment and the social aspect. The second is the fact that it takes place in December,” said Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris, in charge of Sport and Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Le Monde, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nacy are among the more recent to join the initiative, following on from Strasbourg, Lille and Reims.
Le Monde quoted Marseille’s city council as saying the tournament had turned into a human and environmental catastrophe which is incompatible with the values that we want to see transmitted through sport and football in particular.
Strasbourg’s Mayor Jeanne Barseghian said it was impossible to ignore the abuse and exploitation of migrant workers.
“It’s impossible for us to ignore the many warnings of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers by non-governmental organizations. We cannot condone these abuses, we cannot turn a blind eye when human rights are violated,” said the Mayor.
Meanwhile, the Times newspaper has said Ukraine will form part of Spain and Portugal’s joint campaign to host the FIFA 2030 World Cup.
The British newspaper claims that Ukraine is aiming to host one of the tournament’s groups stages as part of the plan, which has reportedly been agreed by the governments of all three countries, adding that Spain and Portugal will announce the new partnership at a press conference from European governing body UEFA’s headquarters on Wednesday,
Ukraine has held a major football tournament before, joining forces with Poland to host the 2012 UEFA European Championship.
However, Ukraine will not feature at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar next month after losing a qualifying playoff final 1 – 0 against Wales in June but Ukraine would be expected to qualify automatically in 2030 if plans to join Spain and Portugal’s campaign are accepted and the nations win their hosting bid.
