Summary Corruption, workers rights and heat become controversial topics in football circles around the globe
PARIS: (AFP) - Three controversies which have plagued Qatar s 2022 World Cup bid after a FIFA ethics committee report cleared organizers of corruption on Thursday:
CORRUPTION:
Almost as soon as Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, allegations of corruption began to surface. In June, Britain s Sunday Times alleged that Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam, a former FIFA executive committee member, paid more than $5 million to officials around the world before the 2010 vote to drum up support for the tiny Gulf state. However, the FIFA report stated that payments were designed to bolster his bid for the FIFA presidency in 2011 rather than to manipulate Qatar s 2022 World Cup hopes. Qatar s decision to sponsor the 2010 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Congress in Angola to the tune of $1.8 million was also brought into question.
WORKERS RIGHTS:
Qatar s showpiece, state of the art stadia are being built by an army of low-paid laborers mostly from South-East Asia and their working conditions have caused widespread consternation. Just this week, Amnesty International criticized "woefully insufficient" steps taken by Qatar so far to end abuses of migrant workers. The International Trade Union Confederation warned in June that as many as 4,000 laborers could die in construction site accidents by the time the 2022 tournament kicks off.
HEAT:
The 2022 World Cup was originally slated for the traditional June-July slot but with temperatures in the Gulf soaring close to 50 degrees even the assurances of air-conditioned arenas did little to avoid growing calls for a switch to the winter months. Suggested dates for the month-long tournament are January and February 2022 or later that year in November and December, but this has raised fears of a clash with the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing or the Kazakh capital Almaty. Major football leagues oppose a winter World Cup and a January-February timing would also conflict with America s NFL, whose Super Bowl takes place in early February.
