Fifa president Gianni Infantino urged to raise Qatar human rights abuses on visit to 2022 World Cup host
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has been urged to use a visit to Qatar to voice concerns over the gulf state's treatment of migrant workers.
The recently-elected head of world football's governing body travels to Russia and Qatar this week to meet with the organising committees of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.
Despite constant controversy surrounding the vote that awarded the tournament to Qatar, as well as allegations of its mistreatment of migrant workers, Infantino has dismissed calls for the 2022 World Cup to be held elsewhere.
But now he faces pressure from human rights group Amnesty International to press for reform of labour laws in the country.
An Amnesty report published last month alleged that Fifa was acting indifferently to human rights abuses in the construction of the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, which will host a World Cup semi-final.
"So far Gianni Infantino's response to revelations of abuse on Khalifa Stadium in Doha has been business as usual for Fifa; heavy on PR, light on tangible reform," said Amnesty's Gulf migrants rights researcher Mustafa Qadri.
"Fifa laid the foundations for a World Cup built on abuse with five years of laissez-faire response to human rights in Qatar.
"If Infantino fails to confront the issue during his visit, in the face of well-documented abuses, he will erect the scaffolding for continuing exploitation."