The Peninsula
Doha: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that Qatar’s ambition is to do things that bring people together and unite them and sport is an important tool to achieve this goal.
“Our country is ready to host major sporting events. The World Cup is just one example of this,” he said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde.
To a question on recent calls for boycott, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said: “The reasons given for boycotting the World Cup do not add up. There is a lot of hypocrisy in these attacks, which ignore all that we have achieved. They are being peddled by a very small number of people, in ten countries at most, who are not at all representative of the rest of the world.”
He added, “It is frankly unfortunate. The reality is that the world is looking forward to this celebration. Over 97% of the tickets have been sold. Among the ten countries that bought the most tickets, we find European countries like France.”
On working conditions for workers, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Qatar recognised the problems with workers’ welfare. “We even invited NGOs to come and observe our system. We have come a long way in reforming our legislation. Such reforms take time. This is true for any country; it is not unique to Qatar. Of course, there are still flaws and we are determined to fix them. But why do we systematically blame our government for these problems, whereas in Europe, the slightest incident is blamed on the company? Why this double standard? I think there are some people who don’t accept that a small country in the Middle East is hosting such a global event.”
To another accusation regarding workers’ deaths, he said: “Every death is a tragedy. In Qatar, we gather and publish mortality figures every year, broken down by age, gender, cause of death and type of employment. Of course, the majority of these deaths are not work-related. They reflect the demographic structure of Qatar, which has a very diverse population. What is clear is that the figures cited by the media are false or misleading.”
On minimum wages, he said that the amount of minimum wage is proportional to the cost of living in Qatar, the level of prices and the size of the Qatari economy.
To another question on a fund for workers, the Deputy Prime Minister said that such a fund already exists and has proven its value. “Last year, $350m was disbursed from this fund. This money went to employees who were deprived of their wages and whose companies are now facing court cases, to employees who were injured at work or to cases of work-related deaths. This mechanism works very well.”
Responding to another question, he said that football belongs to everyone. “It is not reserved for a club of elites. Four hundred and fifty million Arabs are delighted that the World Cup is finally being held in their region.”
Regarding air conditioning system installed in stadiums, he said that temperatures in Qatar in November-December are almost cooler than the temperatures in Europe during the summer. “So, air conditioning will not be used. But think about the fact that some European stadiums are heated during the winter. That does not pose a problem. So why is it a problem that our stadiums are air-conditioned, even though the technology used is more modern and has a smaller environmental impact?”
He said that the World Cup in Qatar is like any other sporting event in the world. “Qatar has a friendly relationship with these countries, in Europe, in South America and we are working with them on security. Security forces from France, England, and other European countries will work hand in hand with our police. They will not act on their own, we will coordinate everything, because we are responsible for the security of everyone, whether they come from England, France or Africa. We are one of the safest countries in the world, and this World Cup will be one of the safest in history.”
To another question about cultural differences, he said: We are a very welcoming people, and the entire world is welcome in our country. All we ask is that fans respect our laws, just as we are expected to respect yours when we visit you. Our security forces will ensure a safe World Cup, and there will be no confrontations unless certain behaviours put people in danger. That is the only situation in which they would intervene.”
He said that at the moment, the world is extremely divided. “We are just coming out of COVID-19. We hope that this tournament will be a celebration, where everyone can discover our country and our culture. Our people are very hospitable and tolerant. If players want to express their opinion, they will be free to do so, we will never stop anyone from expressing themselves.”
To a question about abandoning stadiums after event, he said: “The difference is that there is a perfect alignment between the infrastructure we have built for the World Cup and the infrastructure the country needs. Some of the stadiums will be dismantled, including one that will be completely dismantled and reused in another country. Some stands will be donated to other countries. And all other stadiums will be used after the World Cup. Several other major sporting events are planned in our country after the World Cup, such as the 2030 Asian Games.”