The shame of FIFA - Don't be silent

Well if everyone thought before they posted then no-one would post, yo

LOL - Thug life!

That is an opinion, not a fact

care to post opposing evidence then? 

Yes I have read them. 

I dont see it as "slavery", but certainly those workers have been taken advantage of, as many are in sweatshops around the world.

I dont believe that Fifa have the power to direct a country as to how it employs its workers, the condition of their housing and the visa rules.

And nor should they have.

Here is the info for the nearest connection with Qatar FYI

Embassy of the State of Qatar, Canberra

Street Address: 10 Akame Circuit, O'Malley, Canberra, ACT 2606
Postal Address: P O Box 664. Woden, ACT 2606
Telephone: (61 2) 6152 8888
Facsimile: (61 2) 6286 2209
Email: canberra@mofa.gov.qa
Office hours: 9.00 am-4.00 pm

Staff Details:

Mr Mohammed Abdullah Al-Jabir, Charge d'Affaires a.i. and Counsellor

Can't believe anyone would take this seriously.

they'd also know those visa rules/how they employ their workers etc when they awarded Qatar the World Cup. And must've known how the stadiums would be built. 

I think you might be giving those who "voted" too much credit there.

You read the interview but you must have missed the part where Sharan Burrow talked about Russia changing their employment law to remove worker's rights in the dead of night at FIFA's behest. They do it when it suits them. You say FIFA shouldn't get a say in other countries' employment law - I can respect that point of view. But personally I do think when workers are dying at the rate they are in the construction industry in Qatar - and that's verifiable fact - then an organization like FIFA has a responsibility to not contribute towards that and take its business elsewhere if that doesn't stop. But even if they don't do that, then simply standing by and doing nothing is indefensible and we in NZ have an opportunity to send a message, and our silence in the face of that would reflect poorly on us too. Just my view.

I could perhaps accept the sweat shop labour but what I find distressing is the many thousands of workers who die in accidents i.e. fall to their death from high rise constructions.

Okay so there's a divergence of opinion.

That's okay. I get that. I'm not trying to convert everyone to the way I see it. You're free to see it however you see it and think whatever you think.

However, for those of us who:

• don't find it acceptable; and
• are moved to protest about it

Let's discuss how we wish to express our disatisfaction?

There has been a suggestion made that we go to Qatar. That's one option.

I've also suggested white t shirts worn under our tops (which could then be removed to reveal the white t shirts underneath) with letters painted on them to spell out a protest slogan or message.

Any other ideas?

Anyone else apart from Enzo, Myself and Oska interested in doing something?

I'd wear something to games saying FIFA: END QATAR SLAVERY or similar.

Just read that article - it's a good one.

I don't really think there is a choice is there? If you are going to be in the neighbourhood and attending a game then you need to do something. However small but the bigger the bang the better.

Sounds like: Let's not cause a fuss...

It is worth making a fuss about -

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/qatar-nepal-workers-world-cup-2022-death-toll-doha

Blatter may well turn up here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/world-game/68379846/fifa-bosses-make-beeline-to-new-zealand-for-under20-world-cup.html

There are also some online petitions addressing this issue for those interested:

http://www.walkfree.org/fifa-play-ball/?utm_source...

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/bloodiest_world_cup_lo...

https://www.change.org/p/end-slavery-of-nepalese-m...

http://www.rerunthevote.org/

http://action.sumofus.org/a/qatar-world-cup-ch2mhi...

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-wo...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/boycott-fifa-worl...

https://www.change.org/p/adidas-coca-cola-hyundai-...

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reconsider-qata...

http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4432

http://fifathinkagain.com/

I would like to wear the "E" in slavery.

That's cos my tickets are not in the fever zone, so if I don't get to sit with you it will still be legible :-)

While I'm all for protests of any kind, the MEMA is in force so any protest would need to not break the terms of that. The biggest issue I could see with the t-shirts is that it *could* get classed as ambush marketing, even though it's not actually a marketing campaign.

You guys all know what stadium security are like on the best of days, just think what they will be like when they are working for FIFA. The MEMA is a bigger issue though.

My thoughts:

I would go along with almost anything that people are enthused to do. I have a photographer pass so I will be down on the sideline of games I attend but I will still participate in a way that doesn't get me kicked out or my pass revoked. I plan to put a logo saying "Re-run the vote - no World Cup without workers' rights" on all my blog header images and as the feature image of every post on the U-20 World Cup.

I think the most effective form of protest could be before the game, a group of people handing out a short fact sheet and a sticker to people going in. If a good percentage of the croud wore the sticker it would be more noticeable than a couple or few people wearing a t-shirt and they wouldn't be able to kick people out for wearing them or there'd be half the croud gone. The CTU might be prepared to help with this and/or they may already be planning something similar. I'm happy to liaise. It might be wise to target one game as the best one to take action at rather than biting off more than we can chew.

Would it make sense to do it at a Qatar game?

Yep. Although those are all in Hamilton so don't know how many on here would be going to them?

On a completely unrelated note: why does the forum change the word croud with a w to croud with a u? Croud... croud croud croud... Bizarre...

My ADD is not taking this well!! :-)

^ Won't happen again Enzo - unless the Nix go back to the Hutt Rec, when it becomes a possibility.

Edit: ... and of course, Brandon's follow up ....

You my friend will be one of the first to be asked to leave and not come back.

There has been a massive Police operation underway for well over a year already, and they're using sites like this very forum for intelligence gathering on certain groups and individuals. There is zero way any of you will be allowed to protest inside the grounds with banners or shirts or  stickers or anything that suggests even the slightest hint of what you're all accusing FIFA of - be it true or not. You'll be kicked out of all the grounds for the remainder of the event.

There have been explicit directives from FIFA to not allow any of this kind of stuff to be televised. The NZ government and organising committees are all onside with that.

If they are such delicate little petals that they will revoke my pass for wearing a sticker, so be it then. I'll start drafting my 'FIFA doesn't like free speech' post now and check the draws to see which local football I'll be attending instead. :-)

Reminds me of this

I really pity the poor intelligence officer who has to assess some personalities on here.

Where does it stop? Should I boycott Indonesia for the death sentence or Australia for sending their guys to die? Should I care about Russian gay rights or focus on the gay rights here in NZ.

Every country has their own laws. There are people that do not like the burka etc but 'oh I'm not racist' however. I don't see people telling Australians to fudge off out of our country cause they treat Aboriginis worse than dirt. That's a lot closer to our backyard. Why is there not a t shirt protest saying "stop being racist fudges Aussie"

I focus on what happens in the country I live in. If I have an issue with how things are done in other countries i.e. I should protest Indonesia for those poor mistreated drug smugglers,  I simply don't go there, live there or smuggle drugs there.

In fact, fudge it - my protest will be to stop playing football full stop. That's the best protest I can give FIFA. I won't watch, listen, read, participate in football. That'll fudge em.....

If you really believe that this will make FIFA go 'holy shark, those 13 people are protesting so we should stop' then go ahead. Otherwise, you're no worse than John Minto and his cronies. I prefer to make a difference at home before looking overseas. How about this rampant child poverty in NZ that Labour bang on about? No, let's give a shark about some other country 1st.

Un-fudgeing-believable.

This is ridiculous scaremongering.

Do you think we live in a police state?

Show us your evidence for this "massive police operation" and the "explicit directives from FIFA".

FIFA knew what the laws of NZ were when they awarded us the tournament, and they have not asked for any of them to be changed.

It will be no more strict than the Cricket world cup was earlier this year, and there were plenty of banners at that.

NZ has a long history of protests at sports events; not just the 81 Springbok tour, but also protests at football including by members of White Noise at a world cup qualifier previously (2008 in Wellington vs Vanuatu or Fiji).

It will be an honour to continue that tradition for such a worthwhile cause.

We shouldn't tolerate our favourite sport having its premier tournament built on the back of slave labour.

We live in a democracy where we have the right to demonstrate. I would be very surprised if anyone was arrested for protesting. I recall some years ago the Police were censured for not allowing a protest in Christchurch when a Chinese dignitary was out here.

I am of the opinion that protests can be effective. Look at the Springbok Tour of 81. They never came again in the Apartheid era and Nelson Mandela thanked the protestors for helping to win the fight against Apartheid.

We shouldn't tell Australians to fudge off because of how they treat Aborigines. Regardless if we like their domestic policies you can't blame one person for the policies of a nation. It would be wrong to assume that any average Australian had one opinion on Australians. If we presumed that then we would be stereotyping them as a people. When we protest we shouldn't protest against people but we should protest against ideas. 

Like it or not, the Qatar decision does affect us. There are probably many people on this forum who would love to attend the 2022 World Cup should New Zealand qualify. Being against those other countries is clearly not the same as Qatar because in Qatar the problems directly relate to football. In Russia it is a more tenuous step to link problems in Russia to the World Cup itself. To be against a Russian World Cup you could argue that the World Cup is going to help keep Putin in power. 

If you don't care about the issue or don't believe it is worth fighting for than fair enough. I just think this is quite clearly a difference between Qatar and the other ills in the world. I don't think those who are trying to make a positive change should be criticised. I have already committed myself to not watching the 2022 World Cup regardless of results. You might call that 'no worse (better?) than John Minto' but I'm someone without any wealth or influence. What else am I meant to do? I know I don't matter and I know me not watching will leave a tiny blip but something has to be better than nothing. 

As for you saying 'If you really believe that this will make FIFA', no one thinks that. It also seems we are in a weird position in this country at the moment where we can't discuss anything or our government can't do anything unless it is to do with child poverty.

Which begs the question, why enter the thread which is clearly about protesting FIFA, if you don't give a shark?