Fifa sponsors express ‘grave concerns’ over Qatar World Cup labour conditions

Fifa came under pressure from sponsors Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa to push Qatar to deliver reforms for migrant workers as the country rapidly expands to host the 2022 World Cup.

The calls from high-profile commercial backers of soccer’s flagship tournament came as Amnesty International’s latest report found that Qatar is failing to make substantive changes to improve living and working conditions for low-paid laborers building its highways, hotels, stadiums and skyscrapers.

Fifa maintained that the World Cup is proving to be a “catalyst for significant change” to labour laws in the tiny Gulf nation, which relies on more than a million guest workers, many of them drawn from South Asian nations including India and Nepal.

But the statement from credit card company Visa is the strongest public expression of unease yet from a Fifa sponsor about the plight of workers in the tiny oil and natural gas-rich country.

“We continue to be troubled by the reports coming out of Qatar related to the World Cup and migrant worker conditions,” Visa said in a statement. “We have expressed our grave concern to Fifa, and urge them to take all necessary actions to work with the appropriate authorities and organizations to remedy this situation and ensure the health and safety of all involved.”