The Danish football association, the DBU, has vowed to apply further pressure on Qatar following a report by Amnesty International that criticises the conditions faced by workers building the new football stadium for the 2022 World Cup in the Middle Eastern nation.
In light of the report, ‘The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game’, DBU head Jesper Møller has called for new FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ensure that the nation takes steps to improve the dire conditions that stadium builders endure in Qatar.
“We take the report’s conclusions very seriously,” said Møller. “The conditions are unacceptable. DBU has already agreed with Amnesty International and decided to take an inspection trip to Qatar in November.”
“But we can’t do it alone and we need to co-operate with other organisations and sports associations in Denmark and abroad.”
Infantino up next
The inspection trip will meet representatives of various NGOs in the nation, and DBU is also in dialogue with Qatar’s national football association.
The DBU, which supported Infantino’s FIFA candidacy recently, said that his clear views on the Qatar issue was one of the reasons why he enjoyed Danish backing.
“We expect that he brings up the issue at the next FIFA Congress next month so we can apply pressure on the authorities down there together.”
Young guns qualify
In related news, Denmark’s under-17 team has qualified for the European Championships in Azerbaijan this year following victories against Scotland and Switzerland in the elite playoff round in the Czech Republic.
The Danes beat the Scots 4-0 before scoring a last minute fluke goal against the Swiss to win 2-1 and qualify. The Danes take on the hosts in their final match tomorrow, but they can’t be caught.
See the freak winning goal against Switzerland below.
