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Football's Social Responsibility FOOTBALL’S SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE FIFA WORLD CUP IN QATAR TIME FOR ACTION Contents Introduction 3 Summary 4 The Commission’s recommendation concerning a boycott 4 The Commission’s recommendations for demands that FIFA take action to improve the situation in Qatar and avoid future sports-washing 5 The Commission’s recommendations concerning the need to strengthen the platform underpinning NFF’s human rights activities 6 Human rights and labour rights challenges linked to the World Cup in Qatar 7 How NFF can contribute to permanent change in Qatar and FIFA 9 NFF and FIFA’s duty to contribute to permanent change in Qatar 9 NFF must work for permanent change within FIFA 11 How NFF can combat sports-washing in football 12 Need to strengthen NFF’s platform for working with human rights 13 Recommended initiatives to effect change 16 Boycott 16 Dialogue and demands 19 On-site demonstrations 19 With the Extraordinary Congress into the future 20 Timelines for developments in Qatar, FIFA and NFF from 2010 to 2021 21 The Commission’s members 30 The Commission’s mandate 30 Plenary meetings of the Commission 32 Reports/sources/interview list 32 1. Introduction The Commission considers that the FIFA World Cup (World Cup) should never have been awarded to Qatar in 2010. With this as its starting point, the Commission has been surprised that neither NFF nor FIFA has been willing or able to quickly and clearly demand that the competition’s organisers and the Qatar authorities ensure improvements in the situation for migrant workers in the country. FIFA has adopted a new policy intended to ensure that human rights and labour rights are upheld going forward, but they have not lived up to these standards with respect to taking responsibility for improving the situation for workers in Qatar. The absence of adequate action in solidarity with migrant workers has for a long time been a collective failing on the part of the international footballing community. The immense international attention surrounding the World Cup has contributed to international pressure for legal reforms in Qatar. For the Commission, it has been important to illuminate how Norwegian football can contribute to the World Cup being used to implement these reforms so that they will benefit as many migrant workers as possible, as effectively as possible. The Commission has sought to bring together relevant information and, on this basis, arrive at recommendations which NFF’s Extraordinary Congress must now discuss and vote on. The objective is that this report will assist the sport’s elected representatives to decide how best Norwegian football can help international football to take greater responsibility before, during and after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Commission has interpreted the mandate it was given by NFF’s governing board to mean that we, in this report, should provide the Extraordinary Congress with a basis for deciding: 1. What is the problem with awarding the World Cup to Qatar, and what do we want changed? 2. Initiatives to succeed in achieving the desired changes. 3. How to avoid “sports-washing” and strengthen Norwegian football’s platform for human rights compliance and enhancement. For the Commission, it has been important to see how Norwegian football can in future strengthen its engagement to prevent football being misused for political whitewashing, and instead exploit its full potential as a positive force for Norway and the international community. Given the relatively short time between the Commission started its work and the report was due to be delivered to NFF’s governing board and its Extraordinary Congress, the Commission decided to break into working groups with specific tasks to achieve the most effective collection and processing of relevant information. In addition to various working group meetings, the full Commission has met 18 times. The award of the World Cup to Qatar has prompted national and international debate, with strong views being expressed. In its endeavours, the Commission has sought to be fact-based, but some of the recommendations inevitably rest on subjective assessments. This is particularly evident in the recommendations concerning the initiatives Norwegian football must implement to reach the objectives that the Commission is agreed on. As for most football matches, the outcome of sports diplomacy is uncertain. Just as in football, success depends on thorough preparation, competence, good judgement and helping each other to play well. In its assessments, the Commission has emphasised the importance of proposing measures that encourage as many as possible to concerted action. In sports diplomacy, going it alone quickly descends into empty posturing. The Commission hopes that it will be possible to bring Norway’s whole sporting community together in support of a shared platform and shared goals with respect to these ethical issues. Norwegian sports have a total of 250 representatives in international positions, but they lack a unified understanding of what our international efforts should achieve. In conclusion, the Commission would like to pay tribute to the individuals who have taken the initiative to put this debate high on the national and international agenda. You have made a vital difference and have helped make human rights an integral part of football and not a separate issue that sport can influence from the outside. Now it is up to the democratic process and NFF’s Extraordinary Congress to decide which ethical choices Norwegian football shall make. Choices which will have an impact for a long time to come and far beyond Norway’s borders. 3 2. Summary The Commission’s recommendation concerning a boycott A majority of the Commission, comprising 12 of 14 members, considers that boycotting the World Cup would not be the most effect way of strengthening human and labour rights in Qatar. Nor would a boycott be the most effective way of persuading FIFA to introduce permanent changes to promote greater respect for human rights. This view is based on a review of the facts, interviews and expert assessments. The majority rests its conclusion on the fact that while there is little likelihood that a boycott would contribute to permanent changes in either Qatar or FIFA, there is a risk that it could cause Norwegian football to lose opportunities to exert its influence at a time when international football’s ethical foundations are under pressure. The majority gives weight to statements by international human and labour organisations asserting that further dialogue, with clear demands, is necessary for the reforms to be implemented and benefit all migrant workers. The Commission’s majority therefore recommends that NFF’s Extraordinary Congress vote to send a clear message to FIFA and the organisers in Qatar demanding the implementation of the important reforms that will ensure all migrant workers in Qatar a working environment that is neither dangerous nor injurious to their health, as well as acceptable pay and living conditions. The majority considers that this is important to help ensure the reforms adopted in Qatar are implemented, which should be a precondition for the entire international football community’s participation in the World Cup. The Commission’s majority points out that it is the responsibility of NFF’s governing board to implement the decisions taken by the organisation’s Annual Congress. The majority considers that the NFF Ethics Committee will be an important factor in verifying whether Congress decisions regarding human rights activities have been satisfactorily implemented by NFF. Through dialogue with the major international human and labour rights organisations with a presence in Qatar, the committee will also be able to assess the situation in the country on an ongoing basis. Important indicators will be: • That the workers’ demands are met, including the payment of accrued wages. • That members of the free press are permitted to enter the country. • That the implementation of the reforms intended to strengthen migrant workers’ rights in Qatar are not reversed. The Ethics Committee must submit written quarterly reports to NFF’s governing board, which must publish it on www.fotball.no. The Ethics Committee must also report on its assessment of NFF’s human rights activities at each Annual Congress, starting in March 2022. Given the highly censurable and insecure situation for migrant workers in Qatar, commission members Kjersti Løken Stavrum and Tom Høgli consider that a separate assessment of conditions in the country must be made immediately prior to the start of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament. The risk of new revelations of censurable conditions in the run-up to December 2022 is very real. These members consider that this could cause further embarrassment to the World Cup tournament itself and the wider football community. Given the weakness that FIFA and NFF have hitherto exhibited, and therefore the lack of confidence in their efforts going forward, it is natural that the Ethics Committee should lead this assessment and submit its conclusions in a publicly available report shortly before the tournament begins. A minority of the Commission, comprising two of its 14 members, want NFF’s Extraordinary Congress to vote in favour of boycotting the World Cup if it takes place in Qatar. If the tournament is relocated to another host country, where systematic and gross human rights violations have not been documented, Norway will take part if we qualify. It is important that Norway does not accept the use of football to legitimise the abuse of human rights and violation of football’s values, or whitewash dictatorships. Norwegian football has an independent responsibility to stand up for what is right. There are limits to what Norwegian football can a participant in. The minority considers that neither Qatar nor FIFA have implemented changes good enough to make it morally defensible to participate in the tournament if it takes place in Qatar.
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