Advice for World Cup in Qatar
Klingbeil: “The DFB is a political player”
2/8/2022 9:52 p.m
What do the SPD and the DFB have in common? When they find themselves in a crisis, reforms are perceived as a threat, says SPD leader Klingbeil. But that’s exactly what the German Football Association urgently needs now. The Social Democrats would have shown how to do it.
SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil is demanding a clear stance on human rights issues from the German Football Association (DFB) at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. “The DFB is a political actor. He (…) can’t just go to Qatar to play football there,” said Klingbeil, part of the professional football task force, of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
The politician sees the DFB “paralyzed” by power struggles and draws parallels to his party, which only gained more access to the people after a complete makeover. “It is typical for large organizations in a crisis that attempts at reform are perceived as a threat,” said Klingbeil. “But it is always wise to take up such developments.”
He sees an enormous need to catch up, especially in terms of management culture and gender equality. “The fact that women are 50 percent of the world hasn’t arrived in football yet,” he said. “An organization in which the functionaries are all men is no longer up to date, it will not survive.”
Qatar points to reforms
The SPD leader will not travel to Qatar. “I won’t go there, not even to the Olympics,” he said. “Nevertheless, it’s a difficult balancing act in both cases. I think the decision to award these two major sporting events to Qatar and China is fundamentally wrong. But now, where they’re happening there, you have to make sure you’re sending the appropriate messages.”
With a view to the World Cup finals from November 21 to December 18, that means: “We have to address the situation of women there, including the working conditions around the World Cup,” said Klingbeil. “If the events take place there, we have to point out these abuses in order to increase the pressure on the governments.”
The 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010. The organizer has been criticized for years because of the human rights situation and following reports of thousands of dead workers on construction sites in the emirate. The government of Qatar rejects this and refers to a number of reforms.