Former and present international footballers have signed a joint letter demanding Qatar abolish its kafala system of labour laws, saying migrant workers working on the 2022 World Cup have been “held hostage on the world’s biggest building site”.
Among the signatories of the letter, which has been coordinated by the global campaign movement Avaaz, are the former England international Lee Dixon, the former French international David Ginola, the former Morocco international Abdes Ouaddou and the LA Galaxy player Robbie Rogers.
The letter will be published in a number of newspapers, including the Guardian, on Thursday and comes 24 hours after a number of senior Fifa officials were arrested on charges of corruption.
Qatar’s labour laws have already come under criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
