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World Cup

Armour: Time for FIFA to give Qatar ultimatum on World Cup

Nancy Armour
USA TODAY Sports
Foreign laborers working on the construction site of the al-Wakrah stadium walk back to their housing after finishing work on May 4.

Talk, as they say, is cheap. Not very effective, either, given a blistering new report by Amnesty International on the deplorable conditions that workers in World Cup host Qatar continue to face.

If FIFA, its members and sponsors care as much about human rights as they claim to, it's time to take a stand. Tell the rulers of Qatar that the 2022 World Cup will be held somewhere else unless reforms to protect migrant workers from exploitation are enacted by Aug. 1.

Not being discussed or under consideration. Not in the process of being implemented. In place and making an impact.

Less than three months isn't a lot of time for sweeping change, true. But this is a country that somehow managed to convince FIFA to award it the World Cup. With most stadiums still needing to be built and an initial plan to play it during the searing heat of summer, no less

If leaders in Qatar want to make something happen, they can.

They have to.

Much has been made of Qatar's "persuasive" powers during bidding for the World Cup, which it got over the United States. But far more disturbing is the well-documented exploitation of migrant workers, the very people building the stadiums that will be the crown jewels for the emirate's global coming out party.

Dangerous working conditions. Late or no payment of wages. A sponsorship system -- kafala – that many say amounts to modern-day slavery. Employers confiscating passports so workers can't leave or switch jobs. A visa system that allows employers to prevent their employees from leaving the country.

According to a report issued Thursday by Amnesty International, despite promising reform a year ago, Qatar has made "no significant advances in the protection of rights."

None of the changes the government proposed have actually been implemented, Amnesty said. Of nine issues that would help protect migrant workers, Amnesty said Qatar has made limited progress on five and no improvements on the remaining four.

"We've had a year, and not much has changed. For us that's a really important thing," Amnesty's Gulf migrant rights researcher Mustafa Qadri told The Associated Press. "The situation has probably gotten worse because you have more workers now. ... There's a matter of urgency."

And not simply because no human being should live under such conditions.

A computer-generated image made available by Qatar World Cup's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy shows the 40,000-seat Al-Rayyan Stadium.

With seven years still to go until Qatar's World Cup, FIFA has a small window of leverage. It can hold the world's most popular sporting event over Qatar's head for another year or two, three at the most, before it becomes too late to yank it.

Germany, England and the U.S. have the stadiums to host the World Cup on short notice, but even they'd need a couple of years to line up everything else – hotels, transportation, tickets, etc. So FIFA needs to move, and it needs to move now.

To its credit, FIFA has taken Qatar to task over human rights. After meeting with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in March, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said "more must be done in Qatar to ensure uniformly fair working conditions for all."

Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa, three of FIFA's largest sponsors, issued statements this week saying they were concerned by the continued abuse of migrant workers. Visa even went so far as to say it had "expressed our grave concern to FIFA and urge them to take all necessary actions ... to remedy the situation and ensure the health and safety of all involved."

Now, that may not sound like much. But considering that controversies are usually met with a blank stare by the folks who sign the fat checks, it's something.

But given Amnesty's harsh assessment, it's clearly not enough. Until Qatar shows proof it's sincere about protecting the lives and rights of migrant workers, FIFA should tell the emir it's taking its ball and going elsewhere. To keep the governing body honest -- hold the snickers -- Adidas, Coke, Visa and every other sponsor ought to lock down FIFA's piggybank.

Individual federations need to start speaking up, too, starting with U.S. Soccer. The federation hasn't said a peep about this publicly. Perhaps that was to avoid the appearance of sour grapes, but this is too important an issue to stand by in silence.

Blatter said last summer that the World Cup can be a "platform for change," and that soccer is about "freedom, equality and respect."

Here's the chance to prove it.

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