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US Representative Jan Schakowsky alongside 14 other congress people sent a letter to FIFA's President Gianni Infantino calling for compensation of migrant workers in Qatar in advance of the 2022 World Cup, set to begin November 21.

The letter, sent September 29, supports migrant workers who suffered abuse or even died while building the World Cup infrastructure, stating "We stand with workers and join labor and human rights advocates across the world in calling upon FIFA to establish a workers' compensation fund, supported by a migrant workers' center, prior to the tournament's first whistle."

On October 11, over 120 French parliamentarians signed a petition calling on FIFA, football's governing body, "to set up, as soon as possible, a minimum fund of $440 million, in order to be able to compensate all workers, or their families, who participated in the preparation of the 2022 World Cup and whose fundamental rights were violated."

These politicians join a growing list of people pushing the #PayUpFIFA campaign. The list includes prominent former players, four sponsors, several prominent qualifying national football associations and fans from across the world. The French Football Federation recently backed the call. However, the US Soccer Federation has yet to support the call despite hosting the next World Cup with Mexico and Canada.

The steps taken by US and French representatives are an urgent reminder for those with power and influence over FIFA to break their silence or move beyond cautiously worded statements and call for FIFA to pay up, thereby fulfilling its human rights responsibility according to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and FIFA's own human rights policy.

Recent research by Human Rights Watch has found that while Qatar has introduced several reforms in the last few years, the benefits have been limited due to their late introduction, their narrow scope, or weak enforcement. Consequently, the scale of uncompensated human rights abuses in Qatar since 2010, when the country was awarded World Cup hosting rights, is significant and requires remedy.

With less than 40 days left until the first ball is kicked and celebrations begin, instead of just focusing on how this is going to be the "best World Cup ever," FIFA should turn its attention to remedy the huge costs - including human costs - created by the tournament.*

MORE 11 october

FIFA Should Commit to Remedy Abuses Ahead of World Cup in Qatar
Less Than Fifty Days Away to the Tournament, FIFA's Inaction Risks Complicity in Abuses

At the World Innovation Summit for Health in Doha on October 7, FIFA President Gianni Infantino repeatedly stated that the upcoming 2022 Qatar Men's World Cup will be the "best World Cup ever."

He gushed over "state-of-the-art" stadiums, the transportation system that "works perfectly" and "great" accommodations. In doing so, Infantino rightfully acknowledged that delivering the World Cup is not just about the stadiums in Qatar but also the surrounding infrastructure. But he said nothing about the abuses many migrant workers faced building all of this. More shamefully, with the World Cup less than 50 days away, Infantino and FIFA have still not committed to remedy the abuses faced by migrant workers who made the Games possible.

The theme of the conference was "healing the future." But over the past 12 years, at least tens of thousands of workers have sacrificed their health toiling in Qatar's extreme heat, suffered physical or mental health issues from wage theft and other abuses, or died in preventable, unexplained, and uninvestigated deaths. Healing for them and their families cannot happen without remedy, which includes financial compensation. Reforms introduced by Qatari authorities in recent years have come too late for many of them to adequately prevent or address these harms.

Yet Infantino is publicly oblivious to the realities of migrant workers. In May, he insulted workers by declaring, "When you give work to somebody, even in hard conditions, you give him dignity and pride." There is no dignity in employment rife with stolen wages where abusive employers hold unchecked power over workers.

By failing to publicly commit to remedy past abuses, FIFA is not living up to its own statutes and responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In addition, Infantino is also ignoring the growing call for remedy from different stakeholders FIFA is accountable to, fans, sponsors, football associations, and athletes, who do not want to be associated with the abuses that have stained the game.

Infantino continues to make light of the situation that has come at a large human cost. "FIFA is an official provider of happiness since 1904, since FIFA was created," he stated cheerfully. For some of the most marginalized people harmed making the tournament possible, this could not be further from the truth. FIFA needs to change course and take corrective action to remedy abuses, or there will be little to celebrate at this tournament.