Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, once again made a name for himself by talking about the working conditions of workers on the construction sites of the World Cup in Qatar.
When he was asked about the possibility of seeing the supreme body of football use its profits to help the families of dead workers in the Emirate which will host the competition next November and December, the president of the International Football Federation had a rather unexpected response.
During a conference at the Milken Institute in Los Angeles, Gianni Infantino wanted to highlight the introduction of a minimum wage and the improvement of working conditions. And according to him, the “harsh” working conditions of the migrant workers on the construction sites of the stadiums of the World Cup in Qatar were compensated by the “dignity and the pride” which were offered to them.
“My parents immigrated from Italy to Switzerland. […] When you give someone a job, even in difficult conditions, you give them dignity and pride, he explained in comments reported by the AP news agency. It’s not charity. You are not doing charity. You don’t give someone something and say, ‘Stay where you are. I give you something and I feel good.’”
Gianni Infantino then answered a question regarding the significant number of deaths (6,500). “6,000 people died on other sites too, launched the Swiss. And of course, FIFA is not there to be the police of the world or is not responsible for everything that happens in the world. But thanks to FIFA, thanks to football, we were able to address the status of these 1.5 million workers working in Qatar.