More than a million demand Fifa justice for Qatar World Cup migrant workers

More than a million people have signed a letter calling for Fifa to finally compensate migrants who suffered appalling human rights abuses while working on the World Cup in Qatar.

The letter, which was handed to football’s governing body by the human rights groups Amnesty and Avaaz, also urges it to “stop looking the other way” as its congress meets in Rwanda this week.

In December, Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, announced his organisation had made more than $7bn from the 2022 World Cup cycle, but the human rights groups are frustrated that details remain sketchy over whether Fifa’s proposed “legacy fund” will compensate workers who suffered wage theft, illegal recruitment fees and injuries in Qatar and compensate the families of those who died.

Fifa officials in Zurich were also handed specially designed shirts that echo the blue workwear and yellow vests worn by many of the migrant workers who suffered abuses building stadiums and infrastructure.

“Our letter has the backing of more than one million signatures from more than 190 countries,” Bieta Andemariam, Avaaz’s US legal director, said. “The global public has recognised the grave injustice perpetrated against these workers and has come together to demand that Fifa take a fraction of the billions of dollars made off the sweat, blood and lives of hundreds of thousands of these victims – and simply give them and their families what they are owed.”

The letter comes as a proposal from the Norwegian Football Association, calling for Fifa to “assess whether it has fulfilled its responsibility to remedy related to the 2022 World Cup, including an investigation into World Cup-related deaths and injuries”, is due to be discussed on Thursday.

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