I will not watch the Qatar World Cup, thousands of workers have died building the stadiums - Premier league icon, Eric Cantona Fumes
Former Manchester United Player and premier league Icon Eric
Cantona have revealed that he will not watch the 2022 world cup that will be
held in Qatar this summer.
It was during a
crippling assessment of this year's tournament that Cantona Accused Qatar of ‘horrible’
treatment of the workers who built the stadium and he also says that there is
no chance of legacy in the country.
Cantona said he knows
that the world cup is a big business venture but he also insisted that cups
should be awarded to countries who will use the opportunity to have a lasting
impact and grow football among their population both male and female. Since
Qatar is an Islamic state, Cantona believes there is no potential for football
growth in that country.
Cantona said this
while speaking exclusively to sportsmail at the lunch of Looking FC, football
trips for fans to experience the world and its cities through football
communities. He said :
'To be honest, I don't care about the next World Cup, which is not a real World
Cup for me. In the last decades, you had a lot of events like the Olympic Games
or World Cups in countries that are emerging - like in Russia or China.
'But Qatar - it's not the country of football. I'm not
against the idea of hosting a World Cup in a country where there is a
possibility to develop and promote football, like in South Africa or the United
States in the '90s.
'Football is the most popular feminine sport in the United States, there is a
lot of South American immigration, and a big potential for the sport to
develop.
READ
ALSO –SUPER EAGLES QUALIFY FOR 2022 WORLD CUP
',
now in the United States, the sport which has the most licensed people is
football. But in Qatar, the truth is that there is no such potential. There is
nothing. It's only about money I think.
'It's only about money and the way they treated the people who built the
stadiums, it's horrible. And thousands of people died. And yet we will
celebrate this World Cup.'
He
went on: 'I will not watch it. I understand football is a business. But I
thought it was the only place where everybody could have a chance.
'And I still think that young players can grow up in a very poor area - most
players come from poor areas. And they become footballers and have a chance to
save themselves and save their family which is great. And if you are good, you
are good. It's a meritocracy - if you're better than the next guy, you will
play and it's fair.
'So it's why, maybe, if
meritocracy and potential is the essence of football, it's even more surprising
that we can organize a World Cup in Qatar, and people voted for that.'
His criticism comes after numerous reports last year that a huge number of
migrant workers allegedly died in the Middle Eastern country as they built
cities, roads, and stadiums out of the desert sand and under extreme
temperatures.
Relatives of the workers believe their deaths were a result of the workers being
forced to toil too long under the burning sun without shade, breaks, and water
in temperatures exceeding 40C for just £8.30 a day.
It is believed FIFA will make more than £3billion from the world cup this
summer.
