What happened at the 72nd FIFA Congress in Qatar?

Human rights, the Russia-Ukraine struggle and biennial World Cup plans are a number of the points that surfaced in Doha.

Thursday's Congress, the place FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave an handle, was the primary in-person annual occasion of soccer's world governing physique since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Doha, Qatar – The 72nd FIFA Congress has taken place in Doha, the capital of Qatar, which is about to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.

Thursday’s Congress was the primary in-person annual occasion of soccer’s world governing physique since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Listed here are a number of the highlights from the occasion:

Qatar’s human rights document

Questions and issues over Qatar’s remedy of migrant employees took centre stage on the convention.

Norwegian Soccer Federation President Lise Klaveness took to the stage in the course of the Congress and termed the awarding of the event to Qatar in 2010 “unacceptable”.

In the meantime, FIFA President Gianni Infantino pointed to “the adjustments which have occurred on this nation” as a optimistic signal in the direction of Qatar being awarded the World Cup.

Hassan al-Thawadi, chief of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, mentioned labour reforms achieved by Qatar have been “historic” and the occasion would go away “really transformational social, human, financial and environmental legacies”.

Hassan al-Thawadi, chief of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, who mentioned labour reforms achieved by Qatar have been ‘historic’ [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Biennial World Cup plans

The FIFA president additionally seemingly stepped again from plans of internet hosting a World Cup each two years.

Infantino’s ambition to make the World Cup a biennial event has been beneath hearth, however on the Congress he advised member nations that FIFA had not been proposing the transfer however moderately aiming to look into its feasibility.

“FIFA has not proposed a biennial World Cup,” he mentioned. “The bulk voted within the final Congress to begin feasibility for this. After feasibility, the following section begins the place we discover agreements and attain a compromise.

“We attempt to have debate and talk about to see what's appropriate for everybody. Everybody has to learn.”

The 72nd Fifa Congress in Doha [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Russia’s presence on the Congress

Whereas Russia’s nationwide staff was thrown out of the World Cup qualifiers and its membership sides banned from competitions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the nation’s soccer federation was allowed to be a part of the Congress on Thursday.

Answering a query on why the federation was not barred and suspended from FIFA, Infantino mentioned: “Russia has a soccer union. Like some other federation, [it] has not been suspended, as such, by FIFA. It has been collaborating on this congress as nicely, as a result of if we don’t have events to carry folks collectively like a congress, then we’d moderately cease and go residence.”

Alexey Sorokin, adviser to the Russian soccer chief, in the meantime, backed its presence on the Congress, saying: “What does Russian soccer must do with all this? What has Russian soccer executed flawed? I don’t discover any clauses within the FIFA statutes that have been damaged by Russian soccer.”

Ukraine’s video message

A 3-minute video message was aired on the Congress from the top of Ukraine’s soccer federation, Andriy Pavelko.

Soccer Federation of Ukraine President Andriy Pavelko appeared through a prerecorded video message from Kyiv [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Pavelko wore an armoured vest as he spoke from the capital Kyiv whereas behind him folks packed sandbags a number of metres excessive to guard a monument.

“Sadly, I can't be with you right this moment. Since February 24, we've not had the chance to develop our beloved recreation. For over a month, we've been defending our nation and resisting the army aggression of the Russian Federation.

“Throughout this era, we frequently obtain unhappy information in regards to the deaths of Ukrainian soccer neighborhood representatives. They're killed by the aggressor’s bullets and shells, one of many largest armies on this planet. Soccer has taken a again seat as a result of every single day adults and youngsters die in our nation.”