November 2, 2022
The brief from today:
AFA lobbies clubs to release players
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has taken steps to do what a lot of other associations would like to do, but haven’t had the audacity to. They have started reaching out to clubs in Europe appealing to them that they release their Argentine players early in anticipation of the World Cup. Officially, FIFA has stated that the date for players to report for international duty is November 14, and as a result club matches have been scheduled until the last possible day with most leagues playing until the 13th. So far some Premier League clubs are on alert because one anonymous club already warned the rest that they were approached by the AFA. The response from the club in question was an immediate denial of the AFA’s attempts, and it’s highly unlikely that other clubs’ answers will be dissimilar. Argentina’s motivations for their conduct include a hope to avoid injuries to key players at club level, while they have also scheduled a friendly match with Qatar on November 16 to prepare for the tournament as a team. At present, the provisional squad released by Argentina coach, Lionel Scaloni, includes 49 players, and a large majority of them ply their trade in Europe. Whether they are successful with their pleas to various clubs remains to be seen, but the AFA do deserve some credit for at least making the attempt.
AFA president, Claudio Tapia, has approached clubs to release Argentine players early for the World Cup
Migrant worker issue hangs over Qatar
Despite the increasing excitement as the World Cup draws closer, all the negative issues that Qatar has faced since being awarded the tournament still linger in varying degrees. Chief amongst those matters is the migrant worker problem that has seen a spotlight focus on the poor working conditions they have endured. There are accounts of extreme weather conditions coupled with excessive hours on the job, and now there is the lingering concern that the workers haven’t even been paid. Two reports conducted and released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) reveal findings that don’t make for positive reading. What was discovered is that from October 2021, all the way through as recently as last month, there have been 34,425 complaints submitted by migrant workers stating they didn’t receive compensation from their employers. In addition to that statistic, it was reported that just over 30 percent of those cases went to court, while the remaining were settled outside the legal system. For the cases that went before a judge, 84 percent were ruled in favor of the workers. As the World Cup nears, the positivity around the event will increase, but it is vital that these critical issues don’t get overlooked, and that the oppressed receive their fair compensation for their contributions in Qatar, and to the World Cup.
Majority of the workers that helped build the new stadiums for the World Cup have been migrant workers