On the football planet, Norway may not be a superpower, but it is she who has breathed a wind of protest. First the Norwegians, then the Germans, the Dutch, the Danes and the Belgians. The footballers of these national selections all took part in the public debate to call for an improvement in the working conditions of workers in Qatar. At the origin of this awareness, a damning article published in the English daily The Guardian, on February 23, counted the deaths of at least 6,500 migrant workers since 2010 in this Gulf emirate, especially on the fringes of stadium construction sites.
These five teams, from March 24 to 30, used the same modus operandi: displaying messages on T-shirts, just before qualifying matches for the next World Cup, supposed to be held in Qatar between November and December. 2022.
“Human rights, on and off the pitch”: such was the inscription posted by the Norwegian phenomenon Erling Haaland and his teammates, before their victory in Gibraltar (3-0), on March 24. The initiative is to the credit of the coach, Stale Solbakken, tells the World the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF). “Of course it’s politics, but sport and politics go together and will always go together”, argued the coach, going against the usual discourse on the need for sports neutrality.
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If they qualify, France will be present
At the end of February, several Norwegian clubs – including the northernmost professional club in the world, Tromso – urged their national federation to boycott the next World Cup, in case of qualification. This decision will be subject to a federal vote on June 20. In the meantime, the NFF wants to be much more measured: “We want to improve the situation, and the best way to do that is to compete. “
The simple demand for a political message on the lawn of a stadium can already be surprising. “We would have thought that Norway would be left a little alone in this fight, but it was followed by countries which have a strong chance of qualifying for the World Cup”, observes Carole Gomez, research director at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations.
The specialist in the geopolitics of sport observes the beginning of “Change of doctrine” from the International Football Federation (FIFA), organizer of the event. The institution has announced in recent days to allow players to express themselves on the sidelines of matches, under the ” freedom of expression “. In 2013, the Ivorian Didier Drogba had risked a warning for his t-shirt in tribute to Nelson Mandela, under the regulation according to which “messages have no place in the game”.
Reigning world champions, the players of the France team have not taken advantage of their last matches to convey any collective message. The captain of the Blues, Hugo Lloris, however, considered ” a good thing “ the initiative of the Norwegians. “No player is insensitive to what has been said or written in relation to all that”, adds the goalkeeper, about the situation in Qatar. The players remain free to express themselves on the subject individually, argues the French Football Federation (FFF). On the other hand, the institution will limit itself to government instructions, because of its delegation of public service. “France will be present in Qatar if it qualifies”, at confirmed Noël Le Graët, president of the FFF, at the beginning of March, at Agence France-Presse.
The World Cup remains the “Grail”
However, several political leaders continue to call on the Blues to refuse to go to the emirate. We should protest against a country “Suspected of financing terrorism”, in the words of Julien Bayou, national secretary of Europe Ecology-Les-Verts, Wednesday March 31, on RMC. Bad reasoning, according to Cédric Roussel, deputy (La République en Marche) of the Alpes-Maritimes, on the same radio: “I could have heard it, but today, it’s too late, the stadiums are over. “
The co-president of the study group on the economics of sport at the National Assembly pleads for “Another mode of action”, rather in claiming messages than in negating the event. It is, according to him, “Take advantage of this World Cup to remind people that nothing is above human rights, certainly not sport,” soft power “or economic interests”.
“That there is a boycott movement, I do not believe it for a moment”, says Philippe Piat, president of FIFPro, the world footballers union. A World Cup remains ” the Graal “ to achieve for any footballer.
Calls to boycott the Qatari edition come in over “Ten years too late”, estimates the German international Joshua Kimmich. “The 2022 World Cup has not been awarded this year, but a few years ago [le 2 décembre 2010], recalls the Bayern Munich midfielder. We should have thought of the boycott at the time. Now we have to take this opportunity to educate people. “ Thus, on March 25, as a prelude to their victory (3-0) over Iceland, the Mannschaft players wore a black T-shirt with a white letter for each of them. A sober message: “Human rights” (” human rights “).
Liability of construction companies
For years, non-governmental organizations and trade unions have warned of the need to improve the lot of workers in Qatar. These campaigns have enabled “Improvements”, estimates Mahfoud Amara, Algerian-British professor at the University of Qatar, specializing in sports management and social sciences. In August 2020, at least on paper, the petromonarchy allowed the roughly 2.5 million foreign workers on its territory – out of a total population of 2.8 million – to change jobs without the need to obtain the prior consent of their employer.
Jean-Pascal François, Federal Secretary at the CGT Federation of Construction Employees, notes “A certain thrill in the contestation of this 2022 World Cup”. But judge that it is necessary ” go further ” to warn against “Modern slavery”. In particular by taking economic measures. “Giving yourself a clear conscience by wearing a T-shirt is one thing. Refusing to provide lawns is already a level above. “ At the beginning of March, the Dutch company Hendriks Graszoden refused to equip the stadiums in Qatar, for ethical reasons. “But, in the competitive world in which we live, this company will quickly be replaced”, deplores Jean-Pascal François.
“Most of the time, the press targets the State of Qatar, but not the responsibility of international construction companies involved in major projects, including the 2022 World Cup”, considers Mahfoud Amara.
A paradox remains. “One of the biggest investors in Qatar is the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund”, explains Simon Chadwick, director of the Center for the Eurasian Sports Industry, at EM Lyon Business School. Since 2018, responsible for investing income related to the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Scandinavian kingdom, the Norway Government Pension Fund Global has increased its investments in the emirate ($ 582 million in 2020, or € 495 million). Thus, according to Simon Chadwick, “Norwegian players protest” against stadiums indirectly “Funded” by… their own country.
