Two days before the start of the World Cup, and after the backpedal on the sale of alcohol in the stadiums, Qatar gives up paying the daily allowance promised to its “fan leaders”.
Who said changing your mind, without notice, was not a right? He is certainly not a Qatari leader. After a surprising and worrying volte-face on the authorization of beer consumption in and around stadiums, Qatar is shamelessly dishonoring another commitment: that of paying a daily allowance of 68 euros for meals and drinks to “fan leaders”, those supporters who are offered travel to Doha, accommodation and access to the opening ceremony, in exchange for enthusiasm and positive content on social networks.
Carefully recruited by the Fan Leader Network, a program run by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – the Qatari agency responsible for the World Cup – these supporters from all over the world were informed of the cancellation of their per diem just at the time to go to the Gulf, reveals the English newspaper The Guardian who was able to consult the notification sent by the Qatari authorities to the fans concerned: “Due to recent developments in the media, we would like to protect our visiting fans from misleading and misinformed statements regarding “fans receiving payment for the trip”. As a result, the daily allowance will unfortunately no longer be paid. The stipend was intended to give a little boost to your personal funds to help keep you refreshed during your stay.”
Members of the Fan Leader Network from two European countries have confirmed to Guardian that their payments had been canceled three days ago.
“Who would have thought that an authoritarian regime […] was not trustworthy?”
This new reversal, two days before the opening ceremony, follows the announcement by Fifa that it would no longer be possible to buy alcohol in the stadiums of the World Cup. The move was widely understood to have been forced on football’s governing body at the last minute by Qatar’s royal family. After this finger of honor given to Fifa, which worked for the awarding of this cup to Qatar, and which risks compromising the organization of world football vis-à-vis its sponsors (in particular the American Budweiser) committing millions at stake, what guarantees can we now have on the respect of Qatari commitments regarding the safety of LGBTQ + supporters, in a country where homosexuality is punishable by heavy prison sentences? And what about the promise to improve the conditions of migrant workers, and to compensate the families of workers who died on the construction sites of the World Cup?
Ironically, Football Supporters Europe Executive Director Ronan Evain said: “Who would have thought that an authoritarian regime with an abysmal record on workers’ rights was untrustworthy? I guess that’s what you get by agreeing to be paid the equivalent of a Qatari monthly minimum wage every four days for the sake of doing nothing at all.”