Qatar will keep major soccer event amid protests: World Cup head

The FIFA board chaired by President Sepp Blatter will also debate on Friday if the 2022 tournament should be switched from the scheduled June-July dates because of the fierce Qatari temperatures.



Al-Thawadi said he had “no expectations” about a FIFA decision, and that Qatar is comfortable with any timetable for FIFA to choose which months are best to play in.

After weeks of speculation fueled by Blatter on how to switch the World Cup from summer, the labor issue has also grown in significance after a British newspaper published its investigation from Qatar and international labor activists sought to pressure FIFA to act.

“We are always comfortable and confident that the World Cup will not move from Qatar,” said al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee.

The Qatari government said on Wednesday it commissioned an independent review of conditions for more than one million migrant workers. Mostly from South Asia, they have complained of low pay and being required to hand over their passports to employers.

“We are looking at provisions for our contractors and we are in dialogue with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to look at not only the contracts but the mechanisms to enforce them,” al-Thawadi said. “The government was looking into this before the World Cup came on board.”