The Qatar Supreme Committee have released a statement in response to Hummel's criticism of the nation's human rights record and disregard for migrant workers in preparation for the World Cup.
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Qatar Respond to Hummel Statement
Hummel created quite a bit of buzz the other day as they announced the reason for their semi-hidden logos on Denmark's World Cup kits, claiming that they wanted to be "invisible" at the tournament which had cost so many people their lives and that they do not support Qatar as a host nation.
They received praise from some corners for taking a stand, while others saw it as a hollow gesture intended to cultivate their image as a brand that cares. Yesterday, the Qatar Supreme Committee waded in to give their own response to the Danish brand's stance.
The Supreme Committee is the entity responsible for overseeing all construction and infrastructure projects for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They released the following statement:
The Guardian reported that 6,500 migrant workers died from 2011 to 2020 while working on construction projects for the World Cup, and that these figures were obtained from the governments of the countries of origin of these workers, namely India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Another figure of 1,200 was reported by the International Trade Union Confederation, while numbers tallied from the embassies of the aforementioned countries saw 1,329 mentioned as the number of deaths from 2010-2013. The real number of deaths will likely never be known, but it is safe to say it is a lot higher than the "official" number of three, stated by FIFA president Gianni Infantino earlier this year.
Some of the accommodation that was provided to migrant workers in Qatar.
60 workers were arrested in August this year for protesting their sub-standard working conditions the delays of the salaries which were months long in some cases, with some of then even deported as a result.
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What do you make of Qatar's response to Hummel's statement? Comment below.