Qatar reform 'momentum lost' as Saudi conundrum looms for FIFA

"I guess I have my questions about whether, without the international scrutiny, what the level of enforcement and implementation will be and I think it's really important that we do keep an eye on it."

Those were the comments of Amnesty International's head of economic and social justice Stephen Cockburn when he spoke to RTÉ Sport in October last year about the concerns regarding the myriad of issues facing migrant workers in Qatar once the spotlight on the country would inevitably shift after the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

At that point, which was just weeks before the tournament kicked off, he had said that time was "running out" to compensate migrant workers who were adversely affected in the build-up to the World Cup and that abuses were persisting despite some of the welcome and overdue reforms that the Qatari authorities had implemented.

Cockburn had also called on football's governing body FIFA to show more leadership on the push to recompense workers.

But what has changed in the year since the eyes of the world slowly shifted its gaze away following the final on 18 December 2022? And with the growing likelihood that Saudi Arabia - a country under scrutiny in regard to major human rights concerns - will host the 2034 edition, what lessons have really been learned?

In mid-November, Amnesty International published its report into the situation in Qatar a year on from the World Cup, titled A Legacy in Jeopardy, which concluded that "just as the glare of the world's media spotlight dimmed, so too did the government’s push for fair conditions and decent work for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who helped realize Qatar’s World Cup dream and will continue to keep the country moving for many years to come."