FIFA World Cup: ‘No plan’ yet for Ottawa to send dignitary amid Qatar rights issues
Global News
Canadian fans have the ability to push their government and the national soccer federation to take a stand on the human rights issues in Qatar, Human Rights Watch says.
Ottawa has “no plan” yet to send a dignitary to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as calls grow for participating countries to take a stand on human rights issues in the host nation.
The 2022 men’s World Cup, the first to be played in the Arab world, kicks off on Nov. 20. The tournament, which is traditionally played in June and July, has been moved up to avoid playing in the severe Middle Eastern heat.
Canada will play in the prestigious tournament for the first time in 36 years after qualifying earlier this year. However, the Canadians will be playing in a tournament that has been clouded with controversy ever since 2010, when Qatar was announced as host.
Allegations of mistreatment of migrant workers building World Cup infrastructure have been made for years, and recently, Qatar’s record on LGBTQ2 rights has been in question.
Ottawa, which announced a diplomatic boycott for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year over China’s poor record on human rights, told Global News that no plan has been made yet for a federal dignitary to attend the World Cup.
“The Government of Canada is proud of the Canadian men’s national soccer team qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” a spokesperson with Heritage Canada told Global News on Oct. 21.
“Their qualification is a historic event in itself and all Canadians look forward to cheering them on in November. So far, no plan has been made for a dignitary to attend the event.”
The spokesperson did not elaborate as to why plans haven’t been made yet for a dignitary to attend the World Cup, and redirected Global News on Thursday to another department when asked.
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