On Monday, June 3, live FIFA Watch workshop about the World Cup in Qatar 2022 took place at the Amba Marble Arch Hotel in London.
Distinguished guests and public figures met at an elegant Oxford Street Room, in the presence of the press, to discuss humanitarian issues of the upcoming World Cup. The Director of Public Relations at FERW, Elena Felice De Bacci, presented a list of participants, including:
Her Royal Highness Princess of Sultanate of Buayan (Philippines) Ayesha Syed, ENTREPRENEUR in education sector and PHILANTHROPIST on Global Kidney Foundation, Co-Founder/Director at A1TV SKY 779 Zahid Bhatti, Publisher/Editor of ‘’Politics First’’, Expert on Russia/USSR and Former Yugoslavia, Commentator on Syria and British politics Dr Marcus Papadopoulos, REACTION CONTRIBUTOR, London-based writer specialising in political culture Toby Guise, Ex-banker, businesswoman in pharmaceutical sector Elvira Popovich, Professor of Brighton University, Entrepreneur in mobile technology sector Prof. Maziar Nekovee, Businessman in real-estate sector Maurizio Man Ingoine, journalist and Media personality Rakesh Mathur, showbusiness producer, singer and songwriter Colin Roy, Businesswoman, Public Human Rights Activist Chiara Di Rienzo, Interpreter/Translator Polish-English, Public Human Rights Activist Beata Korabiowska, Fashion Designer Leona Lengyel.
Watch the full recording of the seminar here:
Live Seminar by FIFA Watch on Qatar World Cup 2022
Posted by FIFA Ethics and Regulations Watch on Monday, June 3, 2019
Chairman of meeting HE Honoured Ambassador to Pakistan for Sultanate of Buayan (Philippines), Chairman of UK Pakistan Cultural Foundation, Former Sheriff of Nottingham Dr Shaukat Nawaz Khan opened the meeting with a welcoming speech with a brief overview of FERW’s activities to promote free and fair sport worldwide, making sure that the main body (FIFA) is free from corruption and treats countries equally in 5 main areas: to monitor the main body of football (FIFA), to watch GENDER EQUALITY, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, SPORTS & POLITICS, and DISCRIMINATION. Other than these 5 pillars, it is focusing also on violations of human rights in sports, as well as on positive examples and best practices of clubs, federations, corporations, and individuals.
Following with a review of the World Cup and human rights, an ex-football player and now a young entrepreneur from Lebanon Ahmad Chehade, summed up that, in general, the 2022 World Cup has improved human rights in Qatar and the Arab Gulf at large.
The participants especially liked in his review the fact that the World Cup has pushed Gulf countries to adopt reforms in the favour of workers, and they noted it with applause.
The next speaker was musician and Public Speaker on Human Rights Michelle Buckingham who stated that Qatar has declared its readiness to carry out radical reforms regarding the rights of migrant workers. Under the new law, a minimum wage was established. She said the following: ‘’Qatar has agreed to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This positive step comes in part because of the concerted efforts to improve the country’s human rights reputation ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, and also in the midst of an ongoing political crisis between Qatar and its neighbours.”
Former Legal Adviser to the United States Delegation at NATO and Corporate Counsel dealing with international legal matters said in his speech that the World Cup 2022 has contributed a lot to businesses. The new stadiums and subways are currently being built, increasing the number of jobs. This cognitive and viable speech with many fascinating details was noted with prolonged applause and emotional response of participants.
All people at the seminar have been amazed by a beautiful lady and Human Rights defender, Leila Najafe, and her vivid speech where she stated that sport can easily transmit many positive values, such as fairness, teambuilding, equality, discipline, inclusion, perseverance, and respect, all of which can be found in the Olympic Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the European Charter for Fundamental Rights, and Qatar has done a great job to improve their human rights record.
Drawing an analogy with the modern world and reality, the next speaker Activist at the Labour Party and Chief Operating Officer at the Charity organization Global Kidney Foundation Ella Vine, said that ‘’Like the rules of football, human rights are well established and internationally agreed. In the same way that football teams are required to respect the rules of the game, so nations are expected to uphold international human rights laws. Just as referees are there to ensure that the rules of the game are not broken, so organisations such as Amnesty International, are there to blow the whistle on countries that violate human rights. The truth is, there can be no genuine security without human rights.’’
Further, during the seminar, the Labour Party activist called on the audience to focus on discrimination in football in Europe, women’s rights, and corporate social responsibility of European Companies in Africa and Asia.
To close the meeting, the leader of the seminar clarified the reason Why UAE and SA are not happy with Qatar hosting the World Cup 2022 and concluded by saying that ‘’hosting World Cup 2022 should not be tainted by the support of extremist individuals & (organizations) terrorist figures’’.
At the end of the seminar, the participants exchanged their views. Peter Webster, Solicitor and Past Chairman of the Sports and Games Committee at the Oxford and Cambridge Club, Robert Viresh Mathur, Entrepreneur in financial sector, Golf club owner and player, and Samuel Onwubu, Project promoter in Africa agreed that it is important to focus more on the positive sides regarding Qatar and FIFA and work together in partnership to make this World Cup a success.
The main speaker described the meeting as positive and productive and thanked the participants inviting them for further cooperation.
Despite the late hours, the audience would not leave for a long time, continuing their discussion on the topic of the seminar.
The meeting at the Amba Hotel has demonstrated that the progressive representatives of the world community definitely place high importance on the compliance of the FIFA ethics and regulations within human rights, and many of them are going to henceforward watch the state of affairs at FIFA as of the main global influencer in the media world and an important part of politics in many countries which are holding sport world events today.
