Football Association chiefs have hit back at FIFA and insisted they will not be silenced ahead of the World Cup.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote to all 32 national associations at the tournament last week urging them to put politics to one side and to “focus on the football”.
But that has gone down badly with the English Football Association, which, together with the Welsh FA, has signed a letter with eight other national associations insisting they would continue to talk out on human rights.
The FA is pushing hard on rights for migrant workers and has also spoken out loudly on rights for the LGBTQ community, with fans voicing major security concerns before going to the tournament.
English FA chiefs want to set up a centre for migrant workers. The letter acknowledges that “significant progress has been made by Qatar” in respect of the rights of migrant workers and that assurances have been made on the “safety, security and inclusion of all fans who travel to the World Cup, including LGBTQ+ fans”.
But it added: “Embracing diversity and tolerance also means supporting human rights. Human rights are universal and they apply everywhere.
“We will continue to support the momentum for positive, progressive change and continue to advocate for a conclusive outcome and update on the two key outstanding issues we have been discussing with FIFA for a long time.
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“FIFA has repeatedly committed to deliver concrete answers on these issues – the compensation fund for migrant workers, and the concept of a migrant workers centre to be created in Doha – and we will continue to press for these to be delivered.
“We believe in the power of football to make further positive and credible contributions to progressive sustainable change in the world.”
The letter was signed by FA chief executive Mark Bullingham and Welsh FA boss Noel Mooney, along with their counterparts from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.
