No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsGlobalWorld Cup sponsors Coke, Visa also concerned about Qatar labor conditions

World Cup sponsors Coke, Visa also concerned about Qatar labor conditions

See also: Qatar is building seven ‘cities’ just to house its World Cup migrant workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Coca-Cola and Visa, both official sponsors of FIFA, expressed concerns Wednesday over the conditions for migrant workers in Qatar building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

“We continue to be troubled by the reports coming out of Qatar related to the World Cup and migrant worker conditions,” credit card giant Visa said in a statement.

Visa said it had expressed “grave concern” directly to FIFA, global football’s governing body, over the plight of the workers and urged them to try to help improve the situation “and ensure the health and safety of all involved.”

Separately, Coke said it too was pressing FIFA to keep working with Qatari officials to address labor and human rights issues.

“We expect FIFA to continue taking these matters seriously and to work toward further progress,” it said.

Dubai-based BBC business correspondent Mark Lobel.
AFP/BBC

Qatar has been repeatedly criticized for the poor working conditions of as many as one million migrant workers in the small, oil-rich Gulf country. Most of the workers are from south and east Asia.

The criticisms have focused on its rapid program to build multiple stadiums and other facilities for the 2022 World Cup.

On Monday British broadcaster BBC said one of its reporters, Mark Lobel, had been detained for more than 24 hours in the country while seeking to film conditions for Nepalese laborers on World Cup projects.

Qatar officials have strongly defended their record on labor conditions in the face of the criticism.

In recent weeks it said it has introduced a wage protection system to ensure workers get paid on time and is building several new residential neighbourhoods to improve living conditions.

Campaign group New FIFA Now said on Monday that it had sent letters to eight top FIFA sponsors — Adidas, Gazprom, Hyundai, Kia, McDonald’s, Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Visa — urging them to speak out about working conditions in Qatar.

On Thursday rights group Amnesty International is planning to release a report on Qatar labor rights and conditions related to World Cup construction.

Watch BBC reporter Mark Lobel tell the story of Qatar’s outrageous harassment of his crew: 

 

Trending Now

El Salvador’s Fruit-Laden Bamboo Pole Festival in Carrizal

To the rhythm of music, the roar of fireworks, and doses of aguardiente, hundreds of Salvadorans carried massive bamboo poles laden with fruit on...

Costa Rica Volcano Update: Poás Glows Red, Alerts Shift

Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano has been putting on a fiery show, with its crater glowing red from burning sulfur and molten rocks. Scientists from...

Costa Rican Fishermen Sound Alarm on Gulf of Nicoya’s Overfishing Crisis

In Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya, fishermen are raising urgent concerns about a growing crisis threatening their livelihoods and the region’s marine ecosystems. Illegal...

Salvadoran Journalist Killed in Honduras Despite Protection

Salvadoran journalist Javier Antonio Hércules Salinas was shot and killed in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, about 200 km northwest of Tegucigalpa. Gunmen ambushed...

Panama’s Gardí Sugdub Becomes a Climate Migration Case as Sea Levels Rise

The laughter of children running through the alleys of Gardí Sugdub is no longer heard. Everything changed a year ago when nearly all of...

Environment Day 2025: Progress, Challenges, and What Comes Next

June 5th is International Environment Day, established by the United Nations in 1972 to call attention to issues involving the environment. The idea promised...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica