Hummel, Denmark’s football kit supplier, announced they have ‘toned down’ their branding on the Qatar 2022 kits to reduce their visibility in protest against the nation’s human rights record.
The Danish sports brand took to social media to announce the reason for the design concept and said: ‘With the Danish national team’s new jerseys, we wanted to send a dual message. They are not only inspired by Euro 92, paying tribute to Denmark’s greatest football success, but also a protest against Qatar and its human rights record.
‘That’s why we’ve toned down all the details for Denmark’s new World Cup jerseys, including our logo and iconic chevrons. We don’t wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives.
‘We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn’t the same as supporting Qatar as a host nation.
‘We believe that sport should bring people together. And when it doesn’t, we want to make a statement.’
Since being awarded to host the prestigious football competition over a decade ago, having the World Cup in the region has been highly controversial for many reasons. From the accusations of bribes, the impact on the global football calendar, to the treatment of workers, and not to forget the culture surrounding same-sex relationships.
There have been many talking points in preparation for the World Cup, held in the Middle East for the first time.
For major sporting events to be successful, there must be infrastructure in place to welcome the world to enjoy the joyous spectacle whilst strategically showcasing what the region has to offer. However, the treatment of workers has been well documented with many being underpaid, passports confiscated and living in squalid accommodation.
The Danish Football Union (DBU) have been open about their views about Qatar hosting this year’s World Cup, as in November of 2021 they announced that they will not be participating in any commercial activities, but instead would highlight the human rights issues in the country.
At the time, the DBU spoke to supporters’ groups and non-governmental organisations about Danish fans in Qatar, whilst raising concerns with FIFA and the Qatari organising committee.
Sponsors were even happy to display messages of support for human rights on the team’s training tops which were worn for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Yet, the Qatar 2022 organising committee denied that hosting the World Cup had caused the deaths of migrant workers, following Hummel’s announcement.
An official statement from the organising committee read: ‘We wholeheartedly reject the trivialising our genuine commitment to protect the health and safety of the 30,000 workers who built FIFA World Cup stadiums and other tournament projects. That same commitment now extends to 150,000 workers across various tournament services and 40,000 workers in the hospitality sector.
‘The onus should always be on countries to do more to protect the rights of peoples all over the world, including in Denmark.
‘The supreme committee’s work is recognised by numerous entities within the international human rights community as a model that has accelerated progress and improved lives. Like every country, progress on these issues is a journey without a finish line, and Qatar is committed to that journey.
‘We urge the DBU to accurately convey the outcome of their extensive communication and work with the SC, and to ensure that this is accurately communicated to their partners at Hummel.’
At the beginning of September, Amnesty International, and several other human rights organisations, called for FIFA to contribute $440 million towards a compensation scheme for migrant workers, the same amount as the total distributed prizemoney.
However, the scrutiny of human rights won’t be going away any time soon as all eight FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums have a legacy plan – a way of reusing the facilities once the World Cup is finished – with many stadiums reducing their capacity.
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