Nordic Football Association to put pressure on Qatar

Football president Terje SvendsenFootball president Terje Svendsen(Norway).Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB scanpix

In January,Nordic Football Association leaders are to go to Qatar to emphasise the importance of human rights in the preparations for the World Cup in 2022.

 

The Nordic football president will visit the country,the stadiums, and organisers in Qatar, which hosts the championship in four years time.

The choice of Qatar as host nation has been highly controversial. It has been discovered that very bad conditions exist for construction workers, and many have already lost their lives.

‘’Nobody should be made to die for a World Cup in football.In the Nordic countries, we are known for a high level of democracy, good governance and labour rights.That’s why we’re going together to put pressure on Qatar to ensure better working conditions in the World Cup preparations” said Jesper Møller of the Danish Football Association in a press release.

Several human rights defenders have called for a boycott of the World Cup in 2022, but football president,Terje Svendsen, stated in 2016 that it is hardly a Norwegian boycott. The same perception was given by Svendsen’s Danish colleague on Thursday evening.

“We do not threaten to pull out.We open the debate with Qatar over and over again, and we do it with common Nordic values and a common voice.Only by having a direct dialogue with Qatar ’s leaders can we make changes’’ said Møller.

The Nordic football federation went on a similar Qatar trip in close cooperation with Nordic trade unions,LO,and Amnesty in 2016. Then, Norway’s representative was Bjarne Berntsens.

On Thursday,it was clear that Sweden is making its annual winter trip with the League of Nations to Qatar.During the stay from the 3rd to 13th of January,there will be an international match against Finland.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today