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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INDICTS QATAR 2022 ORGANISERS

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BY DANIEL ETCHELLS.
New research by Amnesty International published claims hundreds of migrant workers in Qatar are going unpaid, despite the country’s repeated promises to improve workers’ rights ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 52-page report – All work, no pay: The struggle of Qatar’s migrant workers for justice – shows how several hundred migrant workers employed by three construction and cleaning companies were forced to return home penniless.

It is believed the true scale of the problem is likely to be far bigger, with the United States Department of State estimating that more than 6,000 workers submitted complaints to Qatar’s new Committees for the Settlement of Labour Disputes during 2018 alone.

Since March last year, Amnesty International states more than 2,000 people working for Hamton International, Hamad bin Khaled bin Hamad and United Cleaning have been seeking justice, after the companies stopped paying wages for several months – citing financial difficulties – before ceasing operation and ending their contracts.

The companies were working on a range of construction projects and cleaning contracts.

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At least 1,620 workers submitted complaints to the Committees for the Settlement of Labour Disputes.

While some were eventually given part of what was owed in exchange for dropping their cases, it is claimed most went home with nothing and none received compensation through the Committee system.

Amnesty International wrote to all three companies to present its findings, but says it received no response.

“Despite significant promises of reform which Qatar has made ahead of the 2022 World Cup, it remains a playground for unscrupulous employers,” Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s deputy director of global issues, said.

“Migrant workers often go to Qatar in the hope of giving their families a better life – instead many people return home penniless after spending months chasing their wages, with too little help from the systems that are supposed to protect them.

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“Migrant workers in Qatar too often face an impossible choice between long and often fruitless efforts to seek justice, or returning to their families without the money needed to support them.

“We are urging the Qatari authorities to fully deliver what has been promised and end the shameful reality of labour exploitation.

“If Qatar is serious about meeting its promises to improve workers’ rights, it must provide more judges to ensure cases are heard rapidly, fully finance the compensation fund, and ensure companies that break the rules face justice.”

The Qatari Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs said it helped to negotiate many of the settlements and provided food and generators at workers’ camps.

While Qatari law states that the Committees are supposed to issue judgements on cases within six weeks of a complaint, Amnesty found that workers had to wait between three and eight months.

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In the meantime, it is claimed they lived without income in labour camps lacking sufficient food or running water, facing an impossible choice over whether to go home or fight on.

In November 2017, Qatari authorities passed new laws to improve workers’ rights after signing an agreement with the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations agency.

Those changes included ending the “kafala” sponsorship system, which ties workers to their employers for up to five years and prevents some groups of workers – such as domestic workers – from leaving the country without their employers’ permission.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on Qatar to abolish the “kafala” sponsorship system.
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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Guinea names Portugal’s Duarte as new national coach

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African Cup of Nations - Semi Finals - Burkina Faso v Egypt- Stade de l'Amitie - Libreville, Gabon - 1/2/17 Burkina Faso coach Paulo Jorge Duarte Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh Livepic/File Photo

Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.

Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.

Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.

Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.

They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.

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-Reuters

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Veteran coach Van Gaal says he is cured of cancer

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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.

The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”

When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.

Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.

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He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.

-Reuters

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Like father like son, Davide Ancelotti becomes Brazil’s Botafogo manager

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Davide Ancelotti, son of Brazil's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, has been appointed coach of Botafogo, the Rio de Janeiro club announced on Tuesday.

In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.

The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.

This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.

The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.

Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.

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As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.

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