Asked Tuesday at a global conference of the Milken Institute in Los Angeles on the possibility of seeing Fifa help the families of migrants who died on these sites, Mr. Infantino did not answer precisely, but he stressed that progress had been made. been achieved by Qatar, notably by introducing a minimum wage and improving workers' rights in recent years.
"Let's not forget one thing when we talk about this subject: we are talking about hard, difficult work (...) America is a country of immigration. My parents also emigrated from Italy to Switzerland, even if it was not very far", continued the president of Fifa.
"When you give someone a job, even if the conditions are harsh, you give them dignity and pride. It's not charity. You don't give something to someone in them saying, 'OK, stay where you are. I feel good because I can give you something'."
According to President Infantino, "three people died" while building the stadiums for the next World Cup: "We are investigating these issues with outside organizations," he said.
Other workers "may have died on other sites, but Fifa is not the police of the world and is not responsible for everything that happens in the world", he added.
"But thanks to FIFA, thanks to football, we were able to deal with the status of all the million and a half workers who are in Qatar."
Workers work on the construction site of the Lusail stadium (Qatar), an 80,000-seat enclosure, on December 15, 2018, which will host the opening and closing matches of the 2022 Football World Cup Karim ABOU MERHI AFP / Archives
Qatar, which notably introduced a universal mandatory monthly minimum wage (1,000 Qatari riyals, or around 250 euros, plus allowances for meals and accommodation), claims to have done more than any other country in the region and firmly rejects the balance sheets. deaths on advanced construction sites by international media.
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