Amnesty International has lambasted Canada Soccer for shying away from addressing the "serious, widespread harms experienced by those who made this World Cup a reality" in Qatar...

Canada Soccer issued a statement last month saying it supported "the ongoing pursuit of further progress regarding workers' rights and inclusivity as Qatar prepares to host the world."

"While strides have been made in strengthening protections for workers through the Qatar government's labour reforms, we encourage all partners to continue the dialogue ensuring these reforms translate to tangible improvement in protections for workers' rights and inclusivity across the country beyond the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022," the Canada Soccer statement said...

"Canada Soccer has apparently failed to follow up, raising questions about your stated commitment to upholding Canada's 'global reputation as a defender of human and LGBTQ2S rights,"' it said in the open letter.

Amnesty urged Canada Soccer, before the Canadian men take the field Wednesday against Belgium, to join the joint call by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and FairSquare Projects, a non-profit human rights organization, for FIFA to to create a US$440-million Workers Compensation Fund for labourers and families "who suffered harms in the lead-up to the Qatar World Cup."

Amnesty noted that other federations, including the English Football Association, French Football Federation, Royal Dutch Football Association and U.S. Soccer, have already endorsed a Workers Compensation Fund.