Thousands of goals scored in Danish soccer in November will raise money for migrant workers who helped build World Cup projects in Qatar, Denmark’s soccer federation said.
It is the latest show of support for workers in Qatar from Denmark, whose national team will wear specially toned-down World Cup jerseys, including a black option, to honour those who died in the past decade.
Every goal scored in Denmark in November — from grassroots games to the toptier Superliga — will earn 10 kroner (about $1.30) donated by soccer authorities. The Danish federation said there were 55,000 goals in November 2021. An equivalent number this year would raise about $73,000.
The money will go to the BWI (International Federation of Building and Wood Workers) trades union to target construction workers in Qatar.
\Qatar has been fiercely criticised for the physical and contractual conditions of workers, mostly from South Asia, needed to build stadiums, metro lines, roads and hotels needed for the monthlong tournament that starts November 20.
The exact number of migrant workers who have died or were injured working in often extreme heat on projects since Fifa picked Qatar as World Cup hosts in December 2010 is unclear. However, a Guardian newspaper analysis in February 2021 concluded that 6,500 South Asian migrants had died in Qatar since 2010.
Early last month, the Danish FA (DBU) had also said that its players will travel to the World Cup without their families as it wants to minimise activity in Qatar. “We don’t want to contribute to creating profit for Qatar,” DBU communications manager Jakob Hoyer had told newspaper Ekstra Bladet then.
“Therefore, we have throttled down as much as possible on our travel activities.
Denmark, the 10th-ranked team in international men’s soccer, will play in a World Cup group with defending champions France, Australia and Tunisia.
The Australian players highlighted Qatar’s human rights record in a video published last week that called for reform as a legacy of staging the World Cup.
Written with inputs from AP/PTI
