The Norwegian Football Association has asked FIFA to issue a detailed statement on human rights accountability at the congress in Kigali.
The association, headed by FIFA critic Lise Klaveness, has submitted a motion to the General Assembly in Rwanda. The human rights issue had come up before and during the World Cup in Qatar, especially in Germany, and the World Cup host was at times heavily criticized internationally.
Called for discussion on FIFA in Qatar
In the application, the Norwegian association calls for a discussion specifically about FIFA’s responsibility in Qatar and a debate on how the world governing body intends to fulfill its responsibility in future tournaments. Because FIFA, according to the critics, was not very willing to provide information on these issues, the German Football Association, the Norwegian and the Swedish associations are refusing to support FIFA President Gianni Infantino in his attempted re-election today.
“In the past few weeks, we have received no or only insufficient information from FIFA on various issues,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, according to a statement. The world governing body FIFA must “become much more open and transparent in dealing with the national associations. In their own interest, they should explain how and why certain decisions are made and who was involved in them. That has not always been the case recently.”
The proposals of the member associations for the congress agenda can be found under point ten of the agenda – after the presidential election.
While still in Qatar, Infantino had confirmed that there would be a compensation fund for guest workers in Qatar and that a trade union representation would be set up in Doha. So far, there has been little information about the progress. Critics also say the measures in Qatar do not go far enough. According to reports, Saudi Arabia also wants to apply for the 2030 World Cup, and the country has been criticized even more than Qatar for human rights violations.
At the FIFA Congress in the Qatari capital Doha almost a year ago, Klaveness had expressed clear criticism of the world association and the organizer of the 2022 World Cup in view of the human rights situation in the emirate.
